Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 8 Finale

Eight seasons of groundwork, preparation and learning from our mistakes has left us on the cusp of the ultimate glory once again. Any side can fluke their way to the top but it’s much more difficult to maintain your place amongst the elite. We’ve helped make Tottenham Hotspur a very good side but can we push them one step further and cement our legacy as one of the truly great teams?

The first honour up for grabs is the FA Cup. When you look at how impressive this Spurs side has become, it’s a trophy which doesn’t really make or break our season. That isn’t meant to devalue the longest running cup competition in the modern game but Arsenal fans can attest that winning it doesn’t catapult you into the elite. However, once your team steps out onto the Wembley pitch you don’t want to see them coming off it with just a runners’ up medal either. Every trophy matters and retaining the FA Cup would be a fine achievement.

FA Cup Final

Our chosen XI to face Manchester United is Wells; Villani, Harvey, Sule, Sessegnon; Rice, Camavinga, Gaillard, Foden; Kean and Dembele. Young Keran Tal is obviously missing through injury but everyone else is fit and ready to go.

It definitely feels like this is the season we say goodbye to Dembele as an ‘untouchable’ in our XI, assuming Tal doesn’t inherit Ledley King’s knee. There is absolutely no way I’d consider selling Moussa though. He covered the absence of Harry Kane and then took it onto a whole new level. A club legend in every sense of the word.

The opening 45 minutes see us dominate possession – and attempts on goal – but we’ve been unable to find the breakthrough. Unfortunately Dembele picked up a thigh injury and is replaced by young – is 25 still considered young? – Troy Parrott at half-time.

Approaching the 60-minute mark, I signal for Reinier to get warmed up. Camavinga is struggling to impose himself on the game so the plan is to move Foden back and have the Brazilian sit behind my front two. This change is held off as we have a freekick 40 yards out. Gaillard stands over it. The ball is sent to the edge of the six yard area where young Harvey leaps highest to direct his effort goalwards. De Gea has come off his line and is stuck in the middle of nowhere.. so can only watch as it goes in!

United have to offer more going forward now which should, in theory, allow more space for us to exploit on the counter. However the former English giants are unable to cope with our tempo and remain camped in their own box. Their only hope at the moment seems to be throwing themselves in the way of shots.

Foden twice tries to test the Spaniard in goal but sees his efforts cannon back off a defender. Phil, who obviously hates United due to his City past, is quickest to every rebound and manages to swing in a delightful cross to the back post. It goes beyond Kean and falls at the feet of Villani, who steadies himself before unleashing a wonderful half-volley into the far corner.. and de Gea can’t get there! 2-0. With 11 minutes to go, that should be it.

Two minutes later and the contest is over. What started from a United corner ends with Villani powering down the right, skipping past a couple of challenges as he gets into the box. Despite scoring a fine goal moments earlier, he pulls it back for Moise Kean and the Italian stallion beats De Gea at the near post. 3-0. A mullering. An absolute mullering.

As it commonplace in Football Manager, a collapse usually results in the opposition scoring an obscene amount of late goals. Gaillard sends in another freekick that eventually comes to Reinier on the edge of the area. With no real option available out wide, he plays it back to Gaillard and the French superstar drills a strike along the floor.. through a crowd of people.. and into the bottom corner.

Our academy keeper Chris Wells might be the most significant newgen of the save but Aurelien Gaillard, who cost just 725k and is now worth over 80M, is easily the best one I’ve signed on any Football Manager game. Vive la France!

This turned out to be Niko Kovac’s last game in charge of Manchester United.

And then we move onto Europe. After eight long, but largely successful seasons we come full circle and face Liverpool in the Champions League final.

Bruno Fernandes, Chris Wells, Sandro Tonali and Renan Lodi all picked up minor knocks in the week leading up to the contest. Standard. Dembele’s injury against United was a thigh strain but, with this being the final match of the season, he will have an injection to play and then recover through the summer. Tal is on the bench but not fit enough to play more than 60 minutes.

Champions League Final

Our starting XI is unchanged from the FA Cup final (Wells; Villani, Harvey, Sule, Sessegnon; Rice, Camavinga, Gaillard, Foden; Kean and Dembele). Liverpool are without Dani Olmo, Paulo Dybala, Dayot Upamecano and Antony through injury. Unlucky.

The match starts with Liverpool pushing forward and they get a throw-in deep in our half with only a few minutes on the clock. It’s thrown towards Rosinha, Dybala’s replacement, and is cleared. But wait, the referee has given a penalty. VAR confirms it. Apparently Rice nudged the Brazilian striker. What an absolute joke of a decision. Talk about deja vu.

Fabinho steps up for Liverpool.. and beats Wells. We’re 1-0 down early on in the European final because of a horrible call from the officials. And I’ve just realised that I’m playing a half-fit club legend in attack. Spooky.

Speaking of which, the next highlight is to let me know Dembele can’t continue. Worryingly, it isn’t his thigh but his knee this time. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. I send on the half-fit Tal to replace him.

The match itself is extremely even. I’m sure the early goal helped boost their confidence but on paper, with their absentees, we are the stronger side. Our defence is doing quite well the midfield hasn’t turned up. Either way, these guys are our best shot at turning things around and I don’t want to make another early change because we’ll almost certainly need to take Tal off again before the end of 90 minutes. Big balls or pure stupidity, you decide.

As the second half gets underway Liverpool have a freekick but we manage to clear it. Sander Berge has time and space on the edge of the box as he probes for the killer pass but Tal robs possession from him. The youngster charges forward into the space and it’s two-on-two.. but a fantastic tackle from Jerome Onguene allows the Reds to regroup somewhat.

The ball actually rolls out to Villani on the right, he gets past one challenge and swings a cross into the penalty area.. and there’s Kean! The Italian gets the run on his marker and powers his header into the bottom corner before Alisson can even move. 1-1! Now let’s kick on, lads.

Once again, Liverpool don’t wilt and instead begin to create some chances of their own. Alexander Trent-Arnold is a threat down the wing but we’ve got plenty of cover to limit his options. This means he’s forced to pass inside to Kai Havertz.. but Foden intercepts. It’s three-on-three and Kean has made a great run down the middle.. but Foden opts against playing it.

Damn you, Phil!

The former City man instead plays the ball down the right for Tal but Cannata, Liverpool’s left back, gets there first. However his first touch is awful so Tal pounces on the loose ball before smashing it goalwards.. and Alisson is unable to stop it! We’ve turned this match around in 12 second-half minutes. Cometh the hour, eh? An absolutely massive goal from Tal.

Now it’s our turn to try and handle the pressure.

Sessegnon makes a fantastic header to deny Lewis Cook a golden opportunity to bring Liverpool immediately level. It’s then sent out wide to Trent who swings in one of his dangerous crosses but Sule belts it upfield.

The clearance actually goes all the way to the half-way line where Tal cushions his header into the path of Kean. The Italian has the pace on his two markers and reaches the box. Fabinho is closing down the angle and with no one to aim for across goal, his only option is to shoot. Kean swings his left boot at the ball and it flies towards Alisson’s near post.. he gets a hand to it.. but the power is too much and he can only push it onto the post.. and into the back of the net! 3-1! A Kean brace, plus a goal and assist from young Tal. What a turnaround! Could this be it?

Tal comes off for Tonali. Haidara replaced Gaillard earlier and we switch to a flat-looking 4-4-1-1 (it’s actually more of a 4-1-3-1-1). Kean is left upfront with Foden supporting him but our midfield is packed to absorb Liverpool’s attempts at getting back into the game. However, Pep Guardiola’s lack of attacking options mean he is forced to use Ilaix Moriba as an emergency striker.

And there it is! The final whistle goes and Spurs are once again Champions League winners!

Three finals in a row, two of which were successful, and we banished both the ghost of Pochettino’s past (Liverpool) as well as our own (PSG) along the way.

The fans, board and club legends are all happy with our achievements. There is, however, some bad news. Dembele’s knee injury is a serious one and he’ll be out for 5-7 months.

At 30 years old, this is one of those injuries that shortens a career. However we’ve got Troy to play backup to Kean and Tal until Moussa is ready to return. As long as I’m at the helm, Dembele has nothing to worry about. He’ll retire at Tottenham Hotspur.

End of Season Awards

Maybe Kean’s desire to move upset the fans as Tonali is the new favourite.

Although Kean still sells more shirts than anyone else, so who knows?

And he’s arguably the best striker in the world on my save.

Here is the Champions League’s Best XI

What happens next?

There are a host of budding youngsters coming through, both in the U18s and U23s sides, as well as those I’ve poached from around Europe. Oh, and I agreed to sign Neymar on a free transfer to boost the ‘sign high reputation players’ objective as part of the club’s vision. He’s happy to be an Impact Sub and can cover the attacking midfield role even with limited physical stats. Maybe he can retire at the Spurs just like Lionel Messi did.

My U23 side won the Premier League Cup (finished 2nd in the league) and the U18s won their league, won the Premier League Cup and the FA Youth Challenge Cup (they lost in the final of the UEFA Youth League).

Bruno Fernandes will be sold in the summer and I’m tempted to either promote Rice to captain (from vice) or hand the armband to someone like Kean, who has developed into a real leader of the team.

Sadly a lot of our original season signings are approaching the ends of their careers and, as such, it feels like the rebuilding part is over. The next era should be built in someone else’s vision. As I added to Poch’s groundwork, so must the man – or woman – who follows in my footsteps.

Fernandes, Ake, Sule, Dembele, Haidara and Lodi are all aged 29-32. The vast majority of the youngsters we brought in are about to enter their peaks and there’s a new crop of wonderkids ready to step up.

What happens to our French star Gaillard? Will he establish himself as an icon at Spurs or look to rebuild PSG? Will Keran Tal be able to fill Dembele’s boots, just like Moussa did when Kane left? Those are questions for you to find the answer to, not me.

We’ve also contributed to the future of English football on a national level. Their most recent XI featured seven players who currently turn out for Tottenham, with a couple more on the bench and a few others who we’ve had a hand in their development. The Premier League is also ranked as the number one league in Europe, ousting LaLiga from top spot.

There’s almost 290M in club’s coffers so you won’t have to balance finances like we had to as the team forced their way into upper echelon of world football. I’ve asked Daniel Levy to expand the stadium and he’s kindly agreed. This will see the capacity extended to just over 70,000 going forward.

Our matchday income is already insane and this should help sustain our place at the top. There’s a naming rights deal in place so that’s an extra wedge of cash every season to look forward to. Even my staff are the best in the league across every level.

Basically, Spurs are set up to dominate football for the foreseeable future. It’s the perfect time to say goodbye.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the series, especially during the lulls of updates, and those who recently discovered the blogs during lockdown. I’m not sure what the next project will be. It would be interesting to try out the lower leagues and see if I’m able to learn, adapt and achieve success without the riches of the Premier League.

Maybe I could take over at Scunthorpe United, my hometown team, and try to get them to the top of English football. Or perhaps we could switch countries and attempt to bring say Malaga, or Real Oviedo, back to LaLiga.

Thanks for the memories, Tottenham.

If you want to continue on the legacy of this Spurs side, here is the save game file for you to do just that: Download

Let me know on Twitter how you got on, who you kept, who you sold, etc.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 8 – Part II

Before we get into the blog, I just wanted to give an insight to my current situation. Like many others during this outbreak/lockdown, my regular sources of income have taken a major hit. If you can afford to – and want to – please consider a pledge to my Patreon page here. The blogs won’t ever be put behind a paywall because we all need distractions right now. More importantly than anything else, please keep safe and stay inside as much as possible.

The January transfer window has closed and that means the current squad is the one tasked with turning this season into a glorious one. After moving on an unhappy Jan Oblak, handing Amadou Haidara a new contract and playing Reinier enough for him to ease his concerns, Ryan Sessegnon believes I broke my promise to him. I don’t get it. He played plenty. It doesn’t matter because I wouldn’t sell Sess even if the transfer window was still open. Might need to tweak his squad role at some point though. Once again, I feel compelled to question Bruno Fernandes’ leadership of this group.

We lose 1-0 to Huddersfield at home in the league because, well, Football Manager loves to create a rage moment in the ‘anything can happen’ virtual realm. That doesn’t really matter but losing 2-1 at the Camp Nou, despite taking the lead, does. Not least because their winner came in the 89th minute through Ruben Neves. Keran ‘The Chosen One’ Tal put us ahead before Bernando Silva equalised almost immediately after. Not a horrible result though.

A narrow 1-0 victory over they-are-so-bad-it’s-actually-funny Chelsea sees us march on in the FA Cup before we complete something of a growing trend by losing ahead of a Champions League knockout tie. Leeds United claimed at three points at Elland Road to keep their top four hopes alive. Now it’s time to head over to Spain and face Harry Kane’s Barça side for the second season in a row.

And, for the second season in a row, we absolutely smash the Catalan giants. Tal and a brace from Moise Kean give us a 3-0 lead before Ousmane Dembele pulls one back for the visitors on the stroke of half-time. I can’t fault the boys though as the contest is over with just over an hour on clock. Tal completes his hat-trick and books our place in the Quarter Final of the Champions League.

There’s more good news as Renan Lodi, Reinier and Claudio Trecco are coming back to full fitness as midweek matches become the norm again.

The Champions League draw has taken place and we’re paired with Thomas Tuchel’s Manchester City. The 1st leg is at home.

Perhaps more interesting is if we get beyond our domestic rivals, it’ll be Hoffenheim or – brace yourselves – PARIS SAINT GERMAIN who await us in the semi-finals.

As for my Youth Intake, it’s a disappointing year. The best candidate is a centre back, the same as last time around, but there isn’t anyone you feel is going to set the football world alight in years to come. Naturally, I poach a lot of the best talent from around Europe to make up for that. The two Chelsea lads remain the best prospects in my U18s side.

A rotation XI that includes Troy Parrott and Moussa Dembele does the job against Aston Villa in the FA Cup and we’re paired with Watford in the semi-finals. The Hornets started the season well but have fallen way, way off the pace and sit down in 11th.

Speaking of the club legend, I manage to get Dembele to sign a new deal – he had 12 months left on his existing one – and even take a pay cut. The World Cup winner actually wanted a pay rise, despite turning 30, but he eventually settled for 300,000 (25,000-per-week less). After all he’s done, I’m not going to complain. We’re 2M-per-week under our wage budget anyway.

Nathan Ake and Bruno Fernandes are in the same position. My current plan is to give the Dutch defender one last contract as he’s willing to accept a squad role but Fernandes has been disappointing. I’ve not been a fan of his leadership and think, at 32, it’s time to bid farewell to the Portuguese playmaker.

Manchester City come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in good form. They’ve won 10 of their last 12, losing only to ourselves and Leicester City, both away from home.

Camavinga puts us ahead early in the second half but less than 10 minutes later and City are level. Damn you, away goals. Fernandes is struggling and Tal isn’t having much luck in front of goal. Foden and Dembele, their replacements, immediately link up and the legend puts us ahead. He doubles his tally with five minutes to go to give us a 3-1 lead going into the return fixture. I could kiss you right now, Moussa.

In the build-up to that match, we inexplicably lose to then-bottom of the table Derby County. It was a heavily rotated XI as the Champions League is the priority this season but, yeah, I didn’t expect us to be outfought and outplayed by a Derby side who had won just once in their previous 17 league games.

There’s a slight change in our system for the match against City as I drop my attacking attacker into midfield in an attempt to offer more stability when we’ve got to defend. It doesn’t seem to impact our attacking threat as Kean gives us the lead after 16 minutes. That should be it. Max Aarons adds another immediately after half-time and that most definitely is it. The gamble paid off.

PSG won the home leg 4-1 against Hoffenheim so everything suggests they will be our opponents in the semi-finals. As we click continue.. Hoffenheim did win.. but not by enough. They won 2-0, just one goal away from knocking the French side out on away goals. Our on-loan winger Jake O’Neill got on the scoresheet. This does mean it’ll be down to us to end our horrible run of form against PSG if we are to advance.

A Tal brace helps us beat Watford 3-1 in the FA Cup semi-final (Aarons scored the other) before we finish off the month with London fixtures against Arsenal (A) and Fulham (H). Tal bags another two goals at the Emirates to see us strengthen our lead at the top of the Premier League table and also dent their hopes of making the top four. It does, however, come at a massive cost.

Bollocks.

It’s also nice to see Miguel D’Agonstino boosting the confidence of the players going into the PSG clash. I might have to reconsider who I send to all these press conferences if you keep this up, Miguel.

The 11 heros I send out to vanquish the ghost of Champions League past are Wells; Aarons, Harvey, Sule, Sessegnon; Rice, Haidara, Gaillard, Reinier, Kean and Dembele.

Four minutes on the clock and Mbappe gives PSG the lead. I hate this game. Aarons first switches off at a throw-in and then Sess is out-muscled at the far post by Kylian. I wish I could’ve bashed their heads together rather than taking it out on my poor desk. Not again, lads. Not again. Por favor.

The reaction from the team is exactly what I wanted. PSG are being forced further back and all the chances are coming our way. Sessegnon races away down the left before cutting it back for Gaillard on the edge of the area. PSG have five defenders in the box so the world-class midfielder (no longer a ‘wonderkid’) smashes it across goal.. and into the top corner! What a goal! And against the side we poached him from four years ago!

Sadly our dominance (30-5 in shots, 13-2 on target) doesn’t translate to the final score and it finishes 1-1. On reflection, it’s a horrible result. We need to score in France and hope to keep PSG out, despite us failing to keep a clean sheet in the previous four matches against them.

As the world awaits the second leg against PSG, we beat West Ham – who are a point outside the relegation places – and Manchester United at home. The victory over United sees us secure the Premier League title with three matches to go. Five defeats in the competition is our worst record since seasons one and two when we finished 5th and 4th respectively.

After an earful from me, Miguel is much better with his pre-match comments going into the PSG fixture. Así es, Miguelito. Así es.

I make two changes for the second leg with Camavinga replacing Haidara and Foden coming in for Reinier. The Brazilian has really gone off the boil in the last couple of months.

We need someone to stand up and be a hero, someone to create a moment of magic that will go down in Tottenham history. You look to your Keans, Dembeles, Gaillards and Camavingas – this is when you prove your worth as the best around.

As we tick into the 27th minute the ball is with Sessegnon, who might still be questionable in defence but is a live wire going forward, and he charges down the left before crossing into the box. It goes beyond everyone to Aarons, who heads it towards goal from near the edge of the box. It evades Dembele and is too far ahead of Kean.. and goes into the net?! Kepa might have been unsighted or worried about someone getting a touch but who gives a shit? That is an absolutely HUGE goal from Max!

Less than a minute later and PSG equalise. Bollocks. Sessegnon has been pulled out of position so Aaron Wan-Bissaka is in acres of space down the right. He sends in a low cross that (newgen) Dole pokes past Wells. Whatever happens, we’re incapable of keeping a clean sheet against PSG. 1-1 after 28 minutes.

Despite the lapse in concentration, our defence is performing well. It’s in the final third where it just isn’t clicking. Not for us or, thankfully, PSG. Eriksen is hooked for the home side at half-time but we wait until the hour mark to bring on Troy Parrott and (newgen) Lucas Alves – another PSG academy graduate – for Dembele and Foden. Gaillard and Camavinga are continuing to pull the strings in midfield.

It finishes 1-1 and the match is going to extra time. The most surprising thing I’ve noticed from Ancelotti is he’s taken off both Mbappe and Florentino Luis for Cengiz Under and Rodri. Not sure about that one, Carlo.

The first half of extra time is incident-free but we’ve got possession as the match enters the 105th minute. There are tired legs everywhere but Gaillard and Camavinga continue to search for openings. Eventually the latter sprays it out wide to Sessegnon on the left. He gets to the area before crossing to the penalty spot. Alves volleys it at goal but his effort is blocked by a defender.. only into the path of Troy. The man, the myth, the legend has the entire stadium silent. Without even thinking he smashes it towards the near post.. and Kepa.. can’t get there! WE LEAD 2-1 IN EXTRA TIME!

PSG need two goals now in the final 15 minutes.

Alves drops deeper into midfield, Tonali replaces Rice and Ake comes on (for Camavinga) to play as the anchor man, sitting in front of the defence.

It’s all PSG, as you’d expect, but Sule, Tonali, Aarons and Alves put their bodies on the line. Every highlight ended with a block by one of those guys. Maybe it was because of all the history with PSG, maybe it was the occasion. Whatever it was: the team gave absolutely everything they had.

AND WE ARE THROUGH TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW!

In that final we’ll face.. Pep Guardiola’s Liverpool. They beat Atletico home and away in the other semi-final and I gotta say, I feel confident. Since 2021, we’ve only lost against them on neutral ground once. Sure, it came earlier this season in the Community Shield, but no one really cares about that.

And isn’t it ironic that we’ve come full circle with these two sides meeting in the final again? Rebuilding Tottenham, baby.

So we are left with what could turn out to be the very last entry in this project. An FA Cup final against Manchester United and a Champions League final against Liverpool is what awaits us.

To dare is to do.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 8 – Part I

The defeat to Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League final hurt. Not because there’s any shame in losing to the French kingpins but because it was supposed to be the happy ending for this generation of Tottenham players. And, in a way, it would have solidified our own legacy and not made the previous season’s triumph not look like a fluke. Now we’ll have to deal with an ambitious squad that will question whether we’ve already peaked and if it’s the right time to search for a new challenge.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

But like Mauricio before me – remember, the Jose Mourinho era doesn’t exist in this virtual world – I’m not going to walk away when there’s still work to be done. There won’t be a massive overhaul of first-team stars because this group is good enough to challenge on all fronts but there are a few big earners who are nearing the end of their current contracts.

Real Madrid offer a deal worth up to 113M for Reinier whereas Barça go a bit higher and feel 119M for Kean is a fair price. I don’t want to lose either of them so I demand over 200M for each and the bids are subsequently removed. Fine by me!

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean I am against streamlining the squad. Brace yourselves, an exodus is coming:

Most of those moved on are U23 players who aren’t good enough to make the step up or who don’t have a natural role in my system. Hoogervorst has all the stats to be world class but with Kean, Dembele, Parrott and young Tal infront of him it feels like I’d end up stunting his development. 47.5M is a fantastic fee though.

Fabbri and Karamoko Dembele are right wingers – “I don’t do wingers” – and their sales cause another issue.

Bruno Fernandes, my captain, is suddenly concerned about the lack of depth on the right wing. We haven’t used wingers, even as a rotational option, for about three years but the fiery Portuguese playmaker is worried. To compound that, 26 players share his concern. Are you kidding me, lads?

I’m actually trying to sell another winger, this time it’s 21-year-old Lamine Negi, but only Porto made a bid and it’s 10.5M. Nah. I then transfer-list Negi and, for reasons only known to Benfica, I receive a 76M offer for the French winger’s services. I’ve never clicked the accept button so quickly. Sorry Bruno.

My man management skills also take a knock as I go on to upset Amadou Haidara. The Mali star wants a new deal, which is fair enough, but he’s after 320,000-per-week. I can’t stretch that far and he’s complaining to his teammates. After some time to cool off, I promise we’ll restart negotiations. When we do, both sides fail to agree on terms. Now I’ve apparently broken too many promises and he wants to leave. Okay. This is fine.

The start of the season produces mixed results. We lost to Liverpool in the Community Shield, then lost to the scousers again in the Premier League. I decided to give Chris Wells the number one shirt at Spurs after Oblak missed three weeks of the season through injury. Naturally, Wells was then ruled out for a month himself. Football Manager things.

Keran Tal, who I want to start ahead of the ageing – and sadly declining Moussa Dembele – broke his ankle at the World Cup so didn’t begin playing until the end of September. Moise Kean also had a spell on the sidelines but my striker options are never a concern.

Speaking of club legend Moussa, he actually scored in the World Cup final. His incredible club form hasn’t transitioned to the national team. In fact, he’s often overlooked (not sure why) but it was nice to see the guy add yet another magical moment to his glittering career.

The tournament also saw Aurelien Gaillard, the French boy wonder, announce his arrival on the scene. He scooped two awards for his performances in the tournament.

I forgot to mention that the fine coaching staff we’ve amassed is drawing interest both domestically and internationally. Joao Tralhao, who’s been with me since season two, is poached by Southampton. Good luck, Joao.

By the end of October, we are top of the Premier League but only by a point. Wolves, under the tutelage of Erik Ten Hag now, are challenging us for the title. They’ve got a nice blend of experience and youth in their squad.

Tal is our joint-top scorer, despite missing the first couple of months, and is level with Dembele on 6. Even more impressive is those 6 goals for Tal have come in just three league appearances so he’s averaging a goal every 45 minutes. Moise Kean is only on 4.

As for Europe, which has to be the main objective for us this season, we were drawn in a group alongside Slavia Prague, Lille and Real Madrid. It’s going well so far and I think this result will put a smile on everybody’s face.

As we enter November, three of my staff inform me they’ll be retiring at the end of the season. Jan Wouters (U18 Assistant Manager), Norbert Elgert (U23 Assistant Manager) and Bryan Klug (Head of Youth Development) have handed in their notices. Two of those are long-serving members of my team. Wouters was one of my first signings at the club and Elgert has worked with the U23 side since 2020.

Another departure, this one immediate, is that of Pepijn Lijnders. When Klopp got sacked by Liverpool in 2022, I added the Dutchman to my coaching staff. He now feels the time is right to branch off on his own and help save Nottingham Forest from relegation in the Championship.

Patience isn’t a quality I possess on Football Manager so I waste no time in bringing in PSG’s Head of Youth Development, Jochen Sauer, and Federico Di Placido to replace Lijnders.

Oblak is unhappy because he wants to start more games. Reinier has the same issue. I’ve got quality across the park so I’m finding it difficult to give my all squad adequate playing time. Yet Bruno, my (dis)loyal captain, is worried about right wingers.

We are still topping the league by a single point, have already secured top spot in our Champions League group and are through to the Quarter Final of the League Cup (vs Crystal Palace). The FA Cup draw will see us face either Stevenage or Scunthorpe United(!). Got my fingers crossed for the Iron. Two stand-out results in the Premier League were thanks to our new Tal-isman.

Manchester United absolutely crush us 4-0 at Old Trafford. I think that might be the heaviest defeat I’ve suffered in eight seasons at Spurs. Brutal collapse from the boys. Thankfully, Wolves have lost two on the spin themselves so we don’t lose top spot.

Scunny beat Stevenage so they’ll be our opponents in the FA Cup 3rd Round. We’re going home, baby. The Champions League 1st Knockout Round draw isn’t as king though as we get Barça. Time for you to come home again, Harry. The Catalan giants came 2nd in their group to Manchester City. Elsewhere on-loan Jake O’Neill has helped Hoffenheim qualify for the KO rounds, as well as lead the way in the Bundesliga. PSG, our arch nemesis, got drawn against Zenit. Hot balls anyone?

Now Sessegnon wants more playing time. Seriously, this kind of revolt would never have happened under Henderson’s tenure at the club. Thankfully, whilst everyone wants to piss and moan at Spurs the chasing pack continues to slip up.

As we enter January, there are a couple of new faces added to the squad. The most high profile of those is an exciting Brazilian full back called Jose Roberto, who can also play on the right of midfield. The others are more with an eye on the future. Although I will point out that my Director of Football actually signed one of them: a young Scottish striker called Dean Martin (“The King of Cool”). He looks really good too.

Oh, and you might be glad to know that after seven seasons Daniel Levy finally agreed a naming rights deal for the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. 20M per season. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long in real life.

We breeze past Scunny and are rewarded with a home tie against Liverpool later in the month. A 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge sees us complete the league double over them. John Terry was in charge of the Blues for the home tie and we’ve just dampened the mood under new coach Zinedine Zidane. We also squeeze past Pep Guardiola’s Liverpool in the FA Cup.

It isn’t all good news though as Jan Oblak remains unhappy about his playing time. What’s irritating about this is I actually made a massive effort to give him regular games and he still complains. Maybe it’s time to move on big Jan, especially as Chrissy Wells is now considered a better goalkeeper than him. We also lose another coach to a managerial post. Newgen Marco Perri take overs at affiliate club Charlton.

Our defence of the Carabao Cup is ended by apparent bogey-side Manchester United. We drew 0-0 at Old Trafford but then lost 1-0 at home. Not an excuse but it’s by far the least important of the competitions we are involved in.

As the season enters February, it’s time to finish off the winter transfer window. Celtic launch a bid for Oblak and the keeper is desperate for a new challenge. In an ideal world it’d be nice to see him end the season with us but, as was the case with Kane, the fair decision is to let him go. We’ll be paying half of his 230,000-a-week wages but will rake in 30.5M for 34-year-old Jan.

James Terry, one of our academy graduates, is sold to Southampton for 18.5M. He’s been a solid performer but now finds himself as fifth-choice centre back. Barry Kerslake is another academy graduate who spent last season on loan with Charlton. Unfortunately, he doesn’t look good enough to make our first team squad either. Newcastle United offer 40M and that’s probably 20M more than I expected. We also loan out Lucas Eduardo, my rash January signing from last season, to Real Madrid for six months.

In terms of incomings, I toy with the idea of signing Paul Pogba on a free transfer from PSG. The board want high reputation players but he’s 33 now, so I’m torn. We do bring in a solid goalkeeper to be third choice now that Oblak has departed the club. And, as is commonplace in every winter window, I sign a right back – who can also play on the wing. There’s also three world-class options to choose from so why not make it four? He’ll spend the rest of the season at Real Betis but welcome to the family, Eduardo Dumpierrez.

We are drawn against Chelsea in the 5th Round of the FA Cup. As for the internal issues with the squad, I manage to negotiate a new deal with Haidara for much less than the 325,000 he originally wanted (195,000) but he still won’t remove his transfer request. Okay. I have added him back to my Champions League squad though.

It’s been an injury-ridden start to 2027 for Camavinga. The midfielder has only made three appearances (of the 10 matches available) so far. He’s currently out for another two weeks.

Kean is ahead of Tal on the top scorers chart with 14 to Tal’s 13, although he has started eight matches more than the young English striker. Perhaps a concerning stat is the lack of assists from my midfield. Out-of-favour Haidara is highest with five, the same as Lodi, but where are Fernandes, Reinier or Foden?

Despite all that, we remain top of the Premier League after a last-minute victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Rotten runs of form for early front-runners Norwich and Wolves mean they’ve slipped down the standings with more familiar faces United and Liverpool rounding off the top three.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this streamlined update as we power through the campaign much more quickly. It’s time to enter the business end of the season with Barça next up in the Champions League, as well as Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Come on you Spurs.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 Finale

Paris Saint Germain have been our kryptonite throughout this entire save. We’ve managed to beat every top side we’ve faced with except for the French champions. To go even further, we haven’t even managed a draw. This is, in many ways, the version of PSG that their fans dreamt of. It’s the one sold to them ever since they were bought by Qatar Sports Investments. None of their stars have left, not even the 34-year-old Neymar, and Spurs old boy Christian Eriksen remains a key part of their midfield.

PSG have invested heavily in the squad but there’s no deadwood like the current one. It’s rock solid. 2026 saw them raise the Ligue 1 trophy for the ninth season in a row. As mentioned in a previous entry, the French giants finally broke their Champions League duck in 2023. They also have one of the best, if not the best, academies on the save. There’s a 20-year-old centre back in the first team who is arguably the best defender in the world right now.

Their starting XI for the Champions League final includes plenty of recognisable names too. Kepa Arrizabalaga; Wan-Bissaka, Marquinhos, Roussel (the defender I mentioned), Reguilon; Florentino Luis, Pogba; Salah, Eriksen, Gaillard (no relation to our wonderkid); Mbappe. On the bench you’ll find Rodri, Pedrinho, Junior Firpo, Neymar, Carles Aleña and Xavi Simons. Hirving Lozano is injured and Cengiz Under was simply left out. Stacked.

Eduardo Camavinga is passed fit but hasn’t returned to full training yet. There’s less good news when it comes to Trecco and Gaillard. Firstly, the Argentine picked up a thigh strain in the week leading up to the final. It was a similar story for my French wonderkid, already valued at 69M, with his injury being minor but serious enough to force him out of the squad. Not ideal but hey, it is what it is.

My XI for the Final is Oblak; Aarons, Sule, Harvey, Lodi; Rice, Haidara, Camavinga, Reinier; Kean and Dembele.

With just two minutes on the clock, Lodi whips in a freekick but Kean’s header goes wide. A nice, energetic start. I like it.

PSG force their first opportunity on goal on the 10-minute mark. After some good work down the right flank, Salah crosses to Pogba on the edge of the box. His effort is hit with a lot of power but whistles over the bar.

Nearly all of our chances are coming from set-pieces. Lodi finds Dembele this time but it’s a poor header from the club legend. He must do better.

With 20 minutes gone, Reguilon sends his cross to the front post and Mbappe’s header is inches away from giving PSG the lead. As if anybody expected any different, this is going to be decided by fine margins.

Kean is putting in a shift down the left hand side and plays it to Camavinga, who has space inside the box. He knocks the ball across to Dembele and the legend smacks it towards the top corner.. but Kepa denies him with a wonderful save. That was the first real chance of the game.

We are growing into the game here after a shaky start. Much better lads.

30 minutes in and Wan-Bissaka finally gets the beating of Lodi. He speeds into the box, looks up and sends it deep to Gaillard, who has been left unmarked by Aarons, and the tall winger beats Oblak with ease. The Ligue 1 giants lead after 35 minutes.

Our momentum has gone now. The half finishes with wave after wave of PSG attacks.

I’m not a happy chappy at half-time and make two changes. Dembele just isn’t working this season. I don’t know if it’s to do with age catching up with him or niggling injuries taking their toll. Keran Tal is thrown on to partner Kean upfront. In midfield, Haidara – not the half-fit Camavinga – is hooked for Tonali.

The first opportunity of the second half goes to PSG. Thankfully Sule, my absolute monster in defence, stops Wan-Bissaka and whacks it down the line for Kean. The Italian stallion powers forward but only has Tal to aim for in the box. Instead, he cuts it back for Rice who hits it first time.. but Kepa pushes it away! Another fantastic stop from the former Chelsea man.

It’s such an open game which, I suppose, benefits us. PSG’s latest attack is broken up by Aarons and he spots Tal in acres of space on the half-way line. A bit like Kean moments earlier, there isn’t much to aim for after reaching the box. He stops, turns back and finds Aarons charging forward. The former Norwich man powers his effort towards goal.. and Kepa denies him! I hate you, Kepa.

We are finally beginning to show what we’re capable of now. Marquinhos dallies in possession and Kean robs the ball off his toes. There’s just open space between the Italian and a chance on goal. Young Roussel keeps up with him but there’s more to Kean’s game than just (a lot of) goals. He lays it back for the supporting Rice and his thunder-bastard is destined for the top corner.. and Kepa is beaten! That was magnificent and fully deserved.

Bruno Fernandes replaces Camavinga who doesn’t have anything else left in the tank.

We are being so, so wasteful from our seemingly endless amount of set-pieces. Lodi and Fernandes’ deliveries are on point but our finishing is wayward.

The real chances to score seem to come from open play. Fernandes pinches possession from Wan-Bissaka and swings in a wonderful cross, one centre forwards dream of seeing, and Tal is there.. but his header goes narrowly over the bar. Was that the chance to wrap it up inside 90 minutes?

Fernandes has been sensational since coming on.

After Rice regains possession for us in injury-time, he finds the Portuguese playmaker and the ball is sent forward to Tal. The youngster continues his run into the box and finds Kean.. but he can’t find the room to get his shot away. It goes back to Rice, who sprays it out wide to Aarons, and the full-back only has one thing on his mind: shoot. He winds up and hits it as sweet as you like and it’s flying towards the top corner.. it beats Kepa.. but smashes off the post!

And that is the end of 90 minutes.

Aarons comes off at the start of extra time because he’s running on fumes but Villani is an able replacement. PSG have moved Mbappe to the right of attack, brought on a young striker called Dole as well as the veteran Neymar.

Most of the chances continue to fall our way but there’s a lot of tired legs on display. Neither keeper is forced into making a save. The final bit of action is marred by two injuries. Wan-Bissaka takes out Villani and both are forced off.

Penalties it is.

Mbappe steps up for PSG. The talisman. He aims right.. and Oblak denies him! Magnificant from the loveable Slovenian. Kean is first for us, our talisman. He smashes it left, Kepa goes right.. but it cannons off the post. YOU CANNOT WRITE THIS SCRIPT.

Neymar goes the same way as Mbappe, Oblak guesses right, but the Brazilian’s effort is too good. 1-0 PSG. Up steps our experienced man, Bruno Fernandes, and he doesn’t miss. 1-1.

Pogba scores. 2-1 PSG. Young Tal has volunteered to go next for Spurs. He looks calm. Like Kean, he goes left.. Kepa goes right.. but like Kean his effort comes back off the post. Bollocks. We need you to do something special again, Jan.

Pedrinho is PSG’s third spot-kick taker. He shoots right down the middle.. and Oblak stands tall! It remains 2-1 but Lodi has the chance to bring us level. He takes a deep breath and goes to his right.. Kepa dives that way.. but it goes in! 2-2. I can’t watch.

Reguilon is the man PSG are trusting to put the pressure back on us. Cool as you want, the full back slots it into the bottom corner. Oblak went the wrong way. 3-2 PSG.

It’s all down to.. Joseph Harvey. Our new centre back signing is showing balls of steel here. He has to shut out the noise, try to reduce the pressure on his shoulders. One last deep breath. He hits it hard enough.. but Kepa pushes it away.

PSG have won the Champions League on penalties. They make it three wins out of three against Tottenham Hotspur and lift the European trophy for the second time.

For the first time during this entire save, there was no doubt we were the best team in Europe. We didn’t need a kind draw or fortune to favour us.

Spurs crushed Barça and Atletico Madrid in the big quarter-final and semi-final ties. And tonight, for long periods of the game, we outclassed a strong PSG side. Aarons was denied a last-gasp winner and then both Kean and Tal hit the woodwork from the spot. Lady luck wasn’t on our side.

In the aftermath of PSG’s celebrations, young Harvey said he would step up again if asked. Great attitude. But right now, it still hurts.

End of Season Awards

Moussa Dembele has finally been ousted as the Fans’ Player of the Year. Don’t worry, he’s still firmly in the legends column. Declan Rice has really stepped up and absolutely loves the club too. Kean makes sense due to his incredible goal return (49 in all competitions) and Tonali is somewhat of an unsung hero. Not to the fans though.

Dembele remains the top shirt-seller amongst the squad, even with a below-average campaign. Surprised to see Foden so high. I guess supporters love themselves an English superstar.

Our 2025/26 season review was so close to perfection. I’ve never seen a return like this since I used to scumsave – what the kids call reloading a save if you get a bad result – in my teenage years. Then again, perfection doesn’t quite align with the Tottenham way.

I really don’t think you can put into context just how good Kean has been. He scored 27 goals in the Premier League, 13 in the Champions League. He also topped the assists chart for the year (16). The very definition of a complete striker. I’m so happy his name appeared when I searched for players similar to Harry Kane. As much as it pains me to say it, we haven’t missed Harry at all.

After the Premier League and Champions League payouts, our finances don’t look too bad. A huge 224.5M is added to the kitty. At one point this season we slipped to 60M in the red. That was the lowest its been since 2023 (74M in the red at that time).

What happens next?

I don’t want to finish this series on a negative but there will probably be a change with how I do the blogs. There isn’t anything left to achieve in the Premier League, or even in the domestic cup competitions really.

Whilst the emergence of newgens and talented kids is great, I want the core to be those we initially brought in and have seen grow at the club. Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk were much older when we signed them so moving them on doesn’t really matter, but we let Nelson Semedo go last summer. Oblak (33), Fernandes (31), Ake (31), Sule (30) and Dembele (29) are all either approaching their peak or near the end of it.

The plan was to rebuild Tottenham Hotspur into a force to be reckoned with. We did that. However, there won’t be a rebuilding process once these experienced figures have departed. There’s probably 2-3 seasons left to do that but I know this save has gone on longer than you or I expected it to. As such, it deserves a fitting ending. After that, you can download the save and take over the next rebuild if you want.

We’ll return on Monday or Wednesday, I’m not sure yet, with a more streamlined version of season eight. Whilst an agonising defeat in a European final might have been the moment Mauricio Pochettino’s project fell short, I’m confident we can bid farewell on better terms.

Unless, you know, Levy decides to cut us short.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part V

It’s crunch time. This is potentially the defining season of the entire save so far with Tottenham Hotspur. We’ve won the Premier League with weeks to spare as well as every single final to date. Aside from the league, every other trophy we’ve picked up has been minor or something you would expect from this dominant team. Yet the two competitions that remain undecided will provide stern tests. Not of our quality, but of our mental strength. Do we want to be simply great or legendary?

Manchester City have been the undisputed FA Cup kings throughout the seven seasons we’ve been in charge of Tottenham. They’ve won three of the six campaigns to date and it was us who stopped them from making it four-in-a-row. Two years it was the other side of Manchester, the red half, who denied us in the final. And in a similar pattern, Liverpool then beat United in the 24/25 season’s curtain call. Retaining the FA Cup isn’t as easy as City made it look.

Atletico Madrid also have history with the Champions League. And no, I’m not talking about their agonising final defeats to Real Madrid. In the 2019/20, season one of this save, Diego Simeone’s men finally got the monkey off their back by beating PSG in the final. Instead of catapulting them into becoming European juggernauts, the wheels fell off. Three quarter-final exits were followed by a Round of 32 defeat to Liverpool and last year they didn’t even make it out of the group stages. This time around they mean business.

Although we did smash them 8-0 in the group stage. Just throwing that out there.

FA Cup semi-final vs Manchester City

City are first up and I never like facing them on neutral ground. Home advantage is a genuine thing, even in the virtual world. It’s worth remembering we’ve already thrown away a 2-0 lead against this lot at Wembley. Thankfully, we went on to beat them in the penalty shootout of the Carabao Cup final.

Sandro Tonali has been extremely consistent ever since he joined in season two but his form in the rotated side has been sensational. He anchors the midfield with Declan Rice on the bench. Chris Wells is fully fit and will remain our cup keeper. The full XI is Wells; Villani, Harvey, Sule, Sessegnon; Tonali, Haidara, Gaillard, Fernandes; Kean and Parrott.

It’s a feeling out process at the beginning but thankfully the first chance falls to us. Tonali, my other Italian stallion, switches play to the left and finds Sessegnon. He spots Moise Kean hanging off the back of the last defender and loops a long ball to him. Kean brings it down with his left before powering a right-footed effort beyond Sousa. Another fine start.

Five minutes later and this time it’s City’s turn to put the pressure on. De Bruyne floats in a corner that ‘the new Messi’ Cristian Palacios heads towards goal. As Wells moves to block the striker’s effort, Skriniar manages to deflect the ball in the opposite direction. 1-1. That didn’t last long.

As much as it pains me to admit, City are the better side here. De Bruyne is still a creative genius at 34 years of age and Palacios, well, I want him in my side.

We make a triple substitution on the hour mark, standard football management here folks, as I look to spark the team into life. Gaillard, Fernandes and Parrott make way for Camavinga, Foden and young Keran Tal. There’s an improvement, sure, but the scoreline remains 1-1 as we complete 90 minutes. I don’t think Spurs are capable of lucking out in two penalty shootouts in one season.

On the cusp of half-time in extra time, Harvey sends it long towards Tal. The forward, who I have great hopes for next season, wins the flick-on. Kean darts ahead of Skriniar and smashes it past Sousa. What a hit and what an important goal.

Early in the second half, City’s woes are compounded by the fact their right back is sent off for a second bookable offence – and then Kean puts an end to the contest. He’s freed down the left against a makeshift full back before swinging in a cross towards the penalty spot. Running onto the ball is Rice, a former City man himself, who volleys it into the bottom corner. 3-1. We’re going back to Wembley one more time!

In the lead up to facing Atletico at home, I name a rotated side for Chelsea’s visit to North London. We throw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2. Erling Haaland scores in the 90th minute. That man and his last-minute goals. He’s a cheat code, I swear.

1st leg vs Atletico Madrid (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)

Oblak returns for the first leg against his former side. Young Terry replaces Harvey in central defence due to a knock. Declan Rice returns to anchor the midfield with Tonali moving slightly ahead of him. Camavinga comes in too with Reinier replacing Bruno Fernandes at the point of the diamond. Kean and Dembele, just like old times, lead the attack.

We are in control of the opening 30 minutes but are yet to fashion a clear-cut opportunity. Perhaps Atleti have learnt their lesson from a few months ago. This is a good start though.

…

Lemar sends in a freekick from the byline and Oblak charges out to catch the ball.. but he misses it! Benjamin Nygren, another one of those players I really need to search for in real life, has the simplest of tasks and heads the ball into an empty net. Jan, mate. We’re 1-0 down at home because of another set piece disasterclass. Seriously, that explains the majority of our European failures to date! Bloody hell.

Reinier didn’t make the most of his opportunity and is hooked for Fernandes at half-time. 20 minutes later and there’s still no change in the scorelines. Dembele picks up a knock so I roll the dice and bring on Tal and Gaillard, the French wonderkid replacing a tired Tonali. Come on, lads. Not like this. Not after I brought up smashing these guys 8-0!

My little virtual man is constantly demanding more from the team. He – and I – ain’t happy. After a quick throw-in, Kean plays the ball back for Sessegnon on the left flank. He searches for Tal but the striker is beaten to the ball by the Atleti centre back. It comes back to Kean on the edge of the box, he takes a couple of steps forward before curling it.. into the bottom corner! Now my virtual manager is kissing the Italian stallion’s head, akin to Blanc and Barthez. Cometh the hour, cometh the man!

Now the momentum is fully on our side and Atleti’s confidence is dented. We push and push but, to the LaLiga side’s credit, they’ve been pretty solid at the back this time around. It took a moment of magic to get us back into the contest.

The match edges towards its conclusion but we have a corner. Fernandes aims for the penalty spot but it’s cleared to the edge of the box. Terry heads it across for Camavinga and, with the ball slightly behind him, the Congolese superstar manages to get a shot away. Pavlenka, either unsighted or worried Kean might deflect the ball in another direction, stands still and.. it rolls into the bottom corner! We lead with just three minutes to go!

A much-needed advantage but the tie remains very much in the balance.

2nd leg vs Atletico Madrid (Wanda Metropolitano)

Harvey is fit enough for the second leg but Dembele has to make do with a place on the bench. Haidara, someone you might have noticed wasn’t involved in either of the matches so far, is also regaining full fitness after suffering a pulled abdominal muscle in training. Troy the Boy is injured so Tal partners Kean up top. In midfield, I opt for Trecco to add extra muscle alongside Camavinga.

An early goal would do us the world of good here to cancel out their strike in North London.

As has been quite commonplace this season, the first chance does come our way. We are trying to pass it around Atletico’s high press before the ball eventually goes to Trecco. He immediately pings it forward to young Tal. Showing wisdom beyond his ages, the young striker gets his head up and notices Kean in the penalty area. The cross is perfect and.. Kean sweeps his shot into the bottom corner! We’re ahead at the Wanda! For those relatively new to the series, Tal was actually poached from Everton so our attacking duo both have Merseyside connections.

The home side are in a state of shock, as am I. Away goals can be so big in these matches.

Chances are exchanged before we reach the 30th minute. Sessegnon throws it to Kean, who finds a bit of space and threads it to the lurking Camavinga. The only man in the box is Tal and he’s surrounded by four defenders. Simeone would be proud. So instead, Camavinga evades the challenge of the onrushing defender and lets fly with a thunderous effort.. that goes into the top corner! Unbelievable Jeff! That’s two big strikes in both legs of this tie for the Congolese midfielder.

As we go into the dressing room at half-time I don’t know what to say. They have turned this around and then some. Atletico need to score four to beat us and not even my managerial shortcomings are that bad. No one deserves to come off just yet. Foden is doing okay but we’ll give him until the hour mark. Three players are on a booking – Aarons, Harvey and Rice – which isn’t ideal.

I expect we’ll have to weather something of a storm in the early stages of the second half but the team is in such a strong position. There’s no need to panic.

Aarons is kicked but manages to keep hold of the ball. Cool head, Max. He plays it back to Rice, who finds Aarons, who finds Trecco. The Argentine was a surprise starter but, like Tonali, has impressed with the rotation side. He returns it to the full-back, who sends the ball into Tal’s feet. He shoots.. but it’s blocked. The ball falls back to him and the striker smashes it in at the near post! 3-0 at the Wanda. IN-CRE-ÍBLE! That’s it. We’re going to another European final.

Alvaro Morata comes off the bench and scores a consolation goal for Atletico with 10 minutes to go. Kean and Reinier, on for Foden, make sure the scoreline finishes heavily in our favour though. After beating Barça 5-1 in London, we’ve just beaten Atleti 5-1 on their own patch. For the record, these are the current top two sides in LaLiga.

Premier League > LaLiga

We will face Arsenal in the FA Cup final and PSG in the Champions League decider. We’ve had the Gunners’ number in recent times but the Ligue 1 giants have a 100% record against us. In that same season, the 2022/23 campaign, they went on to win the competition. Damn.

FA Cup Final vs Arsenal

Our North London neighbours stand in our way of making it a clean sweep (domestically). The most depressing part of the build up is losing Eduardo Camavinga for three weeks immediately following the Atletico result. He’s a serious doubt for the Champions League final too. This means our XI is as follows: Wells; Villani, Harvey, Sule, Sessegnon; Rice, Trecco, Gaillard, Reinier; Kean and Tal. On the bench are Oblak, Aarons, Ake, Tonali, Haidara, Fernandes and Dembele.

It’s a nervous start from both sides. Arsenal have a corner and it’ll be taken by one of their originals: Lucas Torreira. The Uruguayan swings it to the back post and Jonathan Tah, clearly not an original, powers his header towards goal and it beats Oblak.. but crashes back off the bar! Yikes. Don’t make me replace you again, Jan.

There isn’t a good opening for us until the 30th minute. Gaillard is 35 yards out but is confident of testing Angus Gunn in goal. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t even noticed he was starting. A quick glance at Arsenal’s squad shows Leno injured himself by falling over the day before the final. Gaillard’s effort is a decent one but Gunn palms it around the post.

Now I’m far from unbiased here but we’ve been the better side. Defences are proving king so far with last-ditch blocks and tackles preventing any other real chances of note.

Speaking of kings, I bring on Dembele for Tal as we might need a bit of experience to break down this Arsenal backline.

Villani is proving to be a menace down the right with his pace. As for the Gunners, Tah is a constant threat from every set piece. I bring on Haidara for Trecco as we need less muscle and more intelligent in the centre of the park.

We’re about to enter the final 10 minutes and Arsenal are still defending for their lives. The switches in play need to be quicker. A throw-in from the left eventually ends up with Haidara, on the right, and he passes it forward to Villani. The Argentine darts into the box, narrowing the angle, before putting all his power behind a shot.. and it flies past Gunn at his near post!

Would Leno have stopped it? I don’t know. Nor do I care. COYS!

Fernandes comes on for Reinier and drops a little deeper. No need to take any risks at this point. We don’t want to see any more goals.

But there is one!

Arsenal’s counterattacks keep falling down at the final moment but they have shown on various occasions that they like a late, late goal. Olivier Ntcham looks to change that by running through my non-existent midfield. He plays it to Traore but his first touch is heavy and Sessegnon recovers possession.

Ryan looks up and sends it long for Kean. The Italian stallion only has Dembele for support but continues to push Arsenal’s defence back. He reaches the edge of the penalty area, cuts inside and sends in a searching cross.. which Dembele nods past Gunn! 2-0! We’re going to win the FA Cup!

Two goals in five minutes (79th & 84th) give us a deserved victory.

According to the media, this means we’ve won the quintuple! Oh, okay then.

My finances are still a major concern. We’re 37M in the red despite raking in a whopping 73M this month. I’d really, really love for Daniel Levy to find a stadium sponsorship deal to ease the bleeding of cash at the club. It’s probably a wise idea to move on some of my higher earners that are either getting too old or I’m shipping out on loan every season.

This blog has already reached the 2500 word limit which means the Champions League final against PSG will have to wait until next time. But don’t worry, you won’t have to wait until Monday. It’ll be posted tomorrow as a one-off special.

For now, let’s bask in the glory of already winning five trophies this season.

Oh, but before you go. Check out this news report on how Jose Mourinho is doing at Stoke City.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part IV

I’m taking the executive decision to try and get us into the pivotal matches and speed through those we steamroller on a consistent basis. Whilst a lesser side like Bournemouth, Southampton or West Ham might surprise us once in a blue moon, we know it won’t happen season after season.

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Jose Mourinho has taken over at struggling Stoke City. This sounds like a better match on paper than ‘The Special One’ taking over at Spurs, eh? Mourinho is trophyless since leaving Manchester United and had mixed spells with Roma, Leicester City and Atalanta before returning to England.

The transfer window closed but I did make one signing on transfer deadline day. A group of my scouts aren’t allowed to leave South America and young Lucas Eduardo has been touted as a future star. The squad doesn’t need any more attacking midfielders but with Bruno Fernandes fading and Phil Foden proving difficult to fit in, he could offer a solution. He’ll remain on loan with Palmeiras until the summer.

There was also a, let’s call it a hiccup, with one of my youngsters. Jay Bull arrived from Manchester United 18 months ago for just 650,000. He’s upset that I didn’t name him in my Champions League squad – yeah, okay then pal – and feels I’ve mistreated him. He wouldn’t listen so I put him on the transfer list. Derby bid 14M, his current value, but the board blocked it as they feel 53M is the least we should accept. Erm, Daniel, mate.

We pick up routine victories over Brighton (3-1) and West Ham (3-1) in the Premier League, squeeze past Brentford (1-0) in the FA Cup and beat The Hammers again (2-0) to book our place in the Carabao Cup final against.. Manchester City. Damnit. High-flying Norwich then lose 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium which brings us to Juventus in the Champions League.

I’ve got a full squad to choose from for our trip to Turin. Our XI is Oblak; Aarons, Harvey, Sule, Lodi; Rice, Haidara, Camavinga, Fernandes; Kean and Parrott.

The first highlight belongs to us. Fernandes whips in a corner but Juventus clear it. Eventually the ball is switched to the right and Aarons tries to find Parrott in the box. De Ligt – yep, still there – heads away but only to Rice some 30 yards out. He rolls the ball across for Camavinga and the Congolese international rifles it into the top corner. Take a bow, son! We’re 1-0 up at the ‘Zebre Stadium’ with barely five minutes on the clock.

And to be honest, that was about it. Juventus huffed and puffed but didn’t really test Oblak throughout 90 minutes. Aarons, Harvey and Sule all stood firm. Lodi struggled against Bernardeschi so I needed to deploy Ake at left back for the final 20 minutes. A crucial away victory. Whilst I might be getting ahead of myself, I’m confident we’ll make it to the next round now.

After coming back from a fiercely contested draw in Italy, we have Liverpool at Anfield to deal with next in the Premier League. Once again, it’s a defensive masterclass as the match finishes goalless. Pep’s side actually had the best chance, from the penalty spot no less, but Ilaix Moriba fluffed his lines.

We follow that with a narrow 1-0 victory over Wolves. It was one-way traffic for 90 minutes but Kean’s penalty in the 3rd minute ended up being the only goal. And then it was time for our first piece of (genuine) domestic silverware: the Carabao Cup.

The first chance falls to Tuchel’s City. Tielemans sends a freekick deep into our box but man-mountain Sule clears. It goes all the way back to Sousa – I guess they’re resting Ederson – who hoofs it forward. Camavinga picks off the loose ball, finds Dembele who immediately threads it through to Kean. Despite being 25 yards out, the Italian stallion chips it over Sousa and we’re ahead after just six minutes. A finish worthy of the current Ballon d’Or holder.

Just before half-time and another wild Sousa clearance kickstarts a Spurs attack. French superstar Gaillard gathers the ball and sends it forward to Dembele. It’s been a really slow season for the club legend but he drives into the box and beats Sousa at his near post. 2-0 and we are cruising here.

As we pass the hour mark I bring on Fernandes and Haidara for Camavinga and Reinier to keep the team fresh. Sessegnon is the only guy struggling out there. In his defence, Ryan has been forced to mark Jadon Sancho and later Myron Boadu. Ake replaces him in the 79th minute.

City finally beat our press and my side are chasing shadows. Their young left back, Lopes, sends in a cross that Ake doesn’t quite reach. It falls to Sekou Koita and he doesn’t miss from five yards out. 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. Come on lads, don’t do this to me.

It’s all City now and they have a freekick as we enter injury time. Sule, what a leader, heads it out but only as far as Boadu. He plays it inside to Malcom Boxall – a wonderkid who turned us down to join City two years ago – and the kid’s effort goes through a host of bodies but there’s Oblak.. or not. It evades the Slovenian’s long frame and squeezes into the bottom corner. It’s 2-2 in the 91st minute. Bollocks.

My players are getting tired now. I really could’ve done without extra time, folks. In the 111th minute, Haidara sends a ball forward to Kean, he brings it down and volleys it across Sousa. The fans go wild! But wait.. the linesman has his flag up. VAR rules it out for offside.

Penalties it is!

Kean scores, Riccardi makes it 1-1. Dembele scores.. then Oblak denies Boadu! 2-1. We have a chance to make it 3-1 but Bruno ‘El Capitán’ misses. Koita could level the scores again.. but Oblak saves! Qué grande es, hombre. Harvey scores to make it 3-1 to us. Skriniar makes it 3-2 but Haidara will win it for Spurs if he scores… and he does! We retain the Carabao Cup!

There’s another Cup match up next as we travel across London to face Millwall at The Den. A rotated side gets the job as we comfortably win 3-0. Aarons and Reinier scored the first two and the final goal went to young Keren Tal from the penalty spot. Tal, who was born in Tel-Aviv but has decided to represent England, is scoring goals for fun with my U23s but hasn’t carried that record over to the senior side. It was his first goal of the season. I’m hoping he will step up and replace Dembele soon.

We crush Blackburn 4-1 in the Premier League to go 14 points clear at the top after United draw four in a row. Then we welcome Juventus to North London.

As is becoming a familiar tale this season, Spurs come flying out of the blocks. Juventus are sat deep in their half and just looking to absorb our attacks. To their credit, it’s working. Kean, Dembele and Gaillard are all being creatively stifled. Tonali is pulling the strings in midfield. The good news is that Juventus aren’t creating much either, if anything.

And we’re through! 0-0 on the night means we advance 1-0 on aggregative thanks to our victory in Italy. Tighter than expected, not gonna lie.

As we enter the beginning of April, we beat Aston Villa (2-1) and Newcastle (4-1) in Premier League. Sandwiched between those results is a 1-1 draw away at the Etihad as 10-man Spurs earn a point. Yet it’s the result at home to Newcastle which brings about sooner-than-expected news:

In other competitions we beat Leicester City in the Quarter Final of the FA Cup. Naturally, it was at home (otherwise we’d be out). Goals from Harvey, Trecco, Foden and Tal (!) ensure we’ll return to Wembley. Liverpool, who might miss out on Champions League football, are our opponents.

Speaking of which, the Champions League Quarter Final draw took place and we’ve got FC Barcelona. Yep, after not seeing Harry Kane for four seasons we are now crossing paths for the second – and third – time in less than 12 months. Kane is currently out of the Barça team as new signing Fabio Silva is leading the line instead. Maybe a cheeky low-ball offer to bring King Harry back in the summer?

Barça, and Kane, will come to North London first. Our XI is Oblak; Aarons, Sule, Ake, Lodi; Rice, Camavinga, Haidara, Reinier; Kean and Dembele.

As for the visitors, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele are the only Barça originals still at the Camp Nou. Other well-known names in the XI are Virgil van Dijk, Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix. Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Fabio Silva and the aforementioned Dembele are on the bench.

The first highlight goes to Barça. They work the ball around the box before sending a cross to the far post. Felix manages to out-jump Aarons but Oblak deals with it easily. Then it’s our turn to launch an attack. Ake finds Reinier and the Brazilian skips through a couple of challenges but runs into traffic. Eventually the ball goes out to Lodi and he aims for Dembele.. who powers it past ter Stegen! Another early goal on the clock. What a start!

Half an hour in and Lodi is standing over the ball at the corner flag. It’s another wonderful cross that Kean gets on the end of. His effort is palmed upwards by ter Stegen but the Italian reacts quickest to poke the ball into an empty net. 2-0! Whose name is Harry Kane?

…

Two minutes later and Kane scores for Barça. It’s another sloppy goal as Lodi gives away possession to Silva. The Portuguese wide man wriggles his way into the box before sending it across the six-yard line. Ake somehow lets it pass by and there’s Harry, it had to be him, to make it 2-1 and give Barça a vital away goal. Bollocks.

It’s hard to know what to change as we’ve utterly dominated the Catalan giants but they’ve got the individual quality to punish us at any given moment. Haidara is having a nightmare so I bring on Gaillard to add a bit of extra goal threat to our midfield. We need at least another goal this evening to advance.

10 minutes into the second half and Barça have a freekick. Silva is no doubt looking for Harry ‘you’re dead to me now‘ Kane but Oblak plucks the ball from the sky. He sets Aarons away down the right who immediately finds Dembele hugging the touchline. The Mouss cuts inside and sends a cross aimed towards Kean.. but van Dijk heads it away. Only to Gaillard though and the French wonderkid glides the ball into the bottom corner. Ice is running through his veins. Can I get a ‘what an inspired substitution’ in the comments section please?

Dembele and Reinier come off for Parrott and Fernandes just as we have a freekick of our own. Lodi, the man of the moment, remains on set-piece duty despite Bruno being on the pitch. He launches it towards Parrott but Camavinga races ahead of him and powers it past ter Stegen! 4-1. Three headers, too. Are we Bolton in disguise?

We’re approaching the final 10 minutes and Barça are pushing for a second goal. A corner is homing in on van Dijk’s head but Sule clears. The attacking players get a lot of praise but Sule, a player we signed in the very first transfer window, has been nothing short of sensational. Worth every penny of the 70M we paid Bayern for his services.

Another quick piece of build-up play sees Fernandes charging across the halfway line. Parrott pulls off down the left and leaves space open down the centre for Kean. Bruno plays in the Italian, who turns his marker inside out before unleashing a rocket past ter Stegen! 5-1. FIVE. ONE. What a performance.

We lose 1-0 at the Camp Nou but that doesn’t matter. The tie was won in North London. Kane didn’t score this one but he did assist a former Premier League man in Sane. We are through to the Champions League semi-finals where we will face.. Atletico Madrid. LaLiga again.

Both matches against Atletico as well as the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City will feature in Friday’s update. Hopefully it’ll also include a couple of finals too. Is it possible to do what only Real Madrid have managed and retain the Champions League trophy? FC Bayern and PSG are in the other semi.

~~Crucially, we haven’t suffered any major injuries either~~.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part III

December isn’t a month I relish in Football Manager because there’s always at least one result or one injury that ruins the entire mood. The flow of games can be good in terms of rotating your squad, keeping everyone happy, but it takes a toll on their fitness. And the concept of rotating heavily is dangerous as we all know the game likes to give you a swift kick in the balls if things are going well.

Let’s try and find some positives though: the only match which, on paper, should cause us some problems is Wolves away. Everybody else is certainly beatable. Ajax is a dead-rubber in the Champions League so even a loss wouldn’t hurt anything but possibly morale. Well, that and the fans being up in arms whenever we don’t obliterate an opponent. Even Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup looks comfortable on paper as they’re currently struggling at the bottom of the Championship. I feel better now, do you?

Back to back away matches against Newcastle (2-0) and Aston Villa (4-0) yield the six points we would expect. Kean bagged a brace in both with Gaillard and Aarons scoring the others against the Midlands’ giants. It makes sense to rotate for the Ajax game but my hand is forced into another change when this email arrives in my Inbox:

Thanks for taking the jam out of our doughnut, Shabaaz

Young Chris Wells had wrestled the number one jersey from Jan Oblak this season but, as fate would have it, now the Slovenian international is back between the sticks. Look at that record, too. 909 minutes without conceding a goal. 12 clean sheets in 15 appearances. I shouldn’t complain too much really because Oblak is still technically better. But this is what I get for trying to plan for the future.

Amadou Haidara is also injured at the minute but I’ve got plenty of cover in midfield. The Malian international won’t be back until January because of a groin strain.

There’s also an update on the next batch of youngsters who will be promoted to my U18 side after Christmas. Apparently, it isn’t good news. Seriously, what I am paying all these people for?

Routines wins against Ajax (2-0) and Blackburn Rovers (4-2) see us maintain that 100% record for December. Joseph Harvey is the latest name to add himself to the treatment room and won’t be back until the new year due to strained ligaments. That earlier positivity didn’t do much good, did it?

Next up is Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup quarter final. My XI is Oblak; Villani, Terry, Ake, Lodi; Rice, Tonali, Gaillard, Fernandes; Kean and Parrott. Strong.

All the chances are falling to us but we can’t seem to get the ball in the back of the net. Unsurprisingly, Forest are sitting deep and frustrating us. Guess what happens next? Yep, Forest take the lead. Declan Rice trips Danny Loader and the man himself coverts from the spot. “Demand More” is going to be abused here.

On the stroke of half-time, my cries for more work. Renan Lodi has space to attack down the left and his cross is bundled home by captain Bruno. 1-1 at the break but I’m still not happy.

At the start of the second half, Forest are on the attack and looking to break down the wing. A crossfield pass is cut out by Gaillard and he plays a quick one-two with Troy Parrott. The French wonderkid gets to the edge of the box before unselfishly passing it inside to Fernandes who grabs his – and our – second of the game.

The contest is over before the hour mark. Attacking down the right this time, Tonali threads a pass in behind for Villani. The Argentine crosses to the near post and there’s Kean who nods it past Sondre Rossbach in the Forest goal. 3-1. Joe done.

You know how a lot of people hate the format of the Champions League because it throws up the same fixtures year after year? That issue still exists in the virtual world. In the 1st Knockout Round of the Champions League we are paired with.. Juventus.

The good news is we have won all four matches against them and, despite their dominance in real life, they currently sit 7th in Serie A. The Old Lady’s squad still possesses a lot of ageing superstars but they are beginning to bed in some cracking youngsters.

It appears I didn’t need to worry much about the trip to Molineux as we smash Wolves 4-0 with goals from Parrott (2), Gaillard and Kean. This brings our unbeaten run to a special milestone.

On Christmas Eve we’ve handed the wonderful news that Eduardo Camavinga has sprained his ankle ligaments and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Merry Christmas, Tottenham fans.

The bug which sees us face the same team back-to-back over the Christmas/New Year period is present again this season. On the three previous occasions, I’ve only managed to win both matches once (vs Fulham). Against Chelsea (1W, 1D) and QPR (1W, 1L) we dropped points. Let’s see how it goes against Everton.

We beat them 4-0 at home with goals from Dembele, Fernandes, Kean and Villani. Marcus Rashford, who was so excited to come up against me after his brief spell at Spurs, got himself sent off late in the second half.

The quick turnaround means I have to rotate a little for the trip to Goodison Park. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have only won twice all season and find themselves bottom of the Premier League. But this was the case when we faced QPR and somehow the Football Manager gods decided to reward them with a victory.

All the early pressure is coming from us and that finally tells in the 35th minute. Aarons’ cross is headed down by Gaillard for his fellow countryman Dembele. He can’t quite get the space to unleash a shot and the ball is poked away.. but only to Gaillard who drills it into the bottom corner. Now Everton will need to loosen up a little.

Yet the script is turned on its head thanks to a set-piece. Everton launch it to the back post, Oblak comes and misses it, and there’s Owen Wijndal to head into an empty net. Come on, lads. “Demand More” is needed once again.

There’s a response after the break. Lodi breaks down the left but then finds Gaillard just inside the area. He floats a cross to the unmarked Kean and we’re back in the lead. That’s it, boys.

Wijndal then goes from hero to villain. He clips Lodi and Kean has a chance to extend our lead from the spot. The Italian stallion steps up.. and scores! 3-1 and that should be all she wrote for the Toffees.

The drama isn’t over though. Less than five minutes later and Lodi brings down Eddie Nketiah in the box. From the penalty spot, Florent Da Silva reduces our lead to just one.

I take off Kean and Gaillard with 20 minutes to go but immediately afterwards Aarons is sent off for a second bookable offence. Bloody hell, Max. Either way there’s no need to panic. My record with 10-men, and sometimes even 9-men, is pretty strong.

Lodi sends a long freekick into the box looking for Dembele but Mina clears. For some unknown reason – I guess one of my centre backs went forward for the freekick – there’s a gaping hole in my defence. Da Silva passes it through to (newgen) Leandro Gutierrez. The Colombian has a free run at goal.. and curls it past Oblak. 3-3!

There are still 15 minutes to go. From being 3-1 up and looking set for another victory, we need have to hold on for a point. And we do. Just. I swear, these double fixtures are cursed. Damn you, Football Manager.

There is some good news on the eve of 2026. Moise Kean is awarded the ‘Ballon d’Or’, ‘FIFA’s The Best’ and ‘World Soccer Magazine’s World Player of the Year’ awards. Fully deserved too, I might add. When Dembele’s goals dried up, he stepped into action and carried the team. Even if Kean ended up missing the Champions League final through injury, he’s been instrumental in everything positive about our team.

And so we move into January and the transfer window re-opens. Maximo Acuña, yet another Argentine wonderkid, is now old enough to make the switch to North London. He’s going to be loaned out for now but after paying just 3.5M for him, I know we won’t lose money on the guy.

Our first opponents in January are West Ham United. The Hammers are led by former Manchester City coach Ben Wilkinson these days. Yet they, a bit like Leicester, are always a different proposition when playing in front of their own fans. They’ve taken points off us in four of the previous six matches at the London Stadium so it won’t be easy.

It’s a fairly even contest in the early goings. No real chances created but at this stage I’d probably take a draw. Not a winner’s mentality, I know, but I don’t want to lose and see the morale drop in the dressing room. It’s important to remain alert, smart and not make any mist– Sessegnon clumsily brings down Albian Ajeti and West Ham have a penalty. What did I just say, Ryan?!

Ricardo Rodriguez, who moved from Arsenal to West Ham in the summer, slots home the spot kick and we’re 1-0 down. Son of a bitch.

As the game continues, I throw on Fernandes, Simpson and Troy to rescue something for us here. It feels like there is another goal in this match.

And there is…

.. for West Ham.

We fail to clear a corner in the 88th minute, it bounces off Terry and lands at the feet of the 34-year-old N’Golo Kante to poke home and send the home fans into raptures. In an ironic twist, they are going to release DVDs about this match, aren’t they?

Our unbeaten run is over.

The draw for the Carabao Cup semi-final, two-legged affairs from now on remember, sees us paired with.. West Ham. A quick glance at the fixture list shows that we’ll be facing them in the league again this month. Seriously, sort out your fixture list generator.

We breeze past Watford (3-0) in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup before drawing 0-0 against West Ham in the away leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. Southampton are crushed 5-0 to restore some much-needed confidence to the group (Dembele 2, Kean, Trecco and Reinier). Then it’s onto Manchester United at Old Trafford.

This will represent our first match against Niko Kovac’s version of United. Although after looking at our history against them, it doesn’t make for good reading. I’ve never beaten United at Old Trafford, in any competition, throughout the previous six seasons.

And that doesn’t change this time around either.

We are poor across the park except for Rice and Oblak. Both strikers fail to get into the match. Reinier, who I tasked with linking midfield and attack, doesn’t perform well either. He was replaced by Fernandes and the Portuguese star, club captain remember, manages to put in an even worse 45-minute display.

United aren’t exactly great themselves but they didn’t need to be. Pellegrini’s short freekick catches out my sleeping defence and Nikola Milenkovic, in acres of space, blasts it past Oblak and that was all she wrote.

From zero defeats in 52 Premier League matches to two in our last three. Is this a crisis?

It doesn’t feel right to end things on a sour note so let’s jump into Bournemouth at home. The Cherries are 19th in the league and struggling big time. We compile their misery as Kean (pen), Troy and Foden give us a 3-0 victory.

Despite those two defeats, a look at the Premier League table is reason to be optimistic. We’ve found our groove in front of goal whilst, generally speaking, keeping the opposition out. Sitting eight points clear of United in second place just shows how consistent we’ve been in the first half of the campaign.

Likewise the goal difference column is miles ahead of anybody else. Spurs are on +50 whereas United are on just +18. Kean tops the goalscoring charts with 17, five ahead of Arsenal’s Krzysztof Piatek. Kean is also just two assists behind Chelsea’s Diego Lainez’s 10.

Maybe this isn’t a crisis but rather a reminder that for however good we might be – and make no mistake about it, we are very good – we must guard against complacency.

We’ll take on Brentford in the next round of the FA Cup, face West Ham at home in both the Carabao Cup and the Premier League, then begin the knockout rounds of the Champions League. Oh, and the transfer window is still open…

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part II

No one likes international breaks, not even in Football Manager. Soon to be French megastar, Aurelien Gaillard, scores the first – of many – goals for his home country. His growth over the last 12 months is something to behold. I know it’s weird and a bit sad but there’s a sense of pride when you bring a youngster into the team and they go on to become a household name. And to think we paid just 725,000 for the guy.

The other positive, if you can call it that, about a two week break is it means I get lost in searching for staff upgrades. I bid farewell to Romain Ferrer and replace him with Spaniard Xavier Tamarit. He’s a scout by trade but his coaching stats are top tier. Welcome to the madhouse, Xavi.

My U18s have a perfect record in the league after five matches. And to think people don’t want you to sign every potential wonderkid available. I say do it. Even if they don’t end up being good enough to challenge for a spot in the first team, you’re going to easily double your money. And what can you do with that money? Exactly, invest in more potential wonderkids. This is how the Football Manager gods wanted it to be.

Our first match after the international break is a home clash with Leicester City. Whilst The Foxes have our number at the King Power, they tend to wilt under the pressure down in North London. We smash them 5-0 despite playing 55 minutes with 10-men. Luciano Villani, my new fiery Argentine full back, saw red for a two-footed lunge. Troy Parrott (2), Reinier (2) and Gaillard ensure we batter the Foxes. Wait, that doesn’t sound right.

CSKA Moscow make the long flight over for the Champions League opener but 20 minutes in and they’ll have wondered why they bothered. Moise Kean (2), Parrott, Claudio Trecco and James Terry put us 5-0 up with just 17 minutes on the clock. Kean completes his hat-trick in the second half, Troy adds another to his tally and there are late goals for Eduardo Camavinga and Moussa Dembele. 9-0. I can hear Jim Ross screaming: “Will somebody stop the damn match?!”

After scoring in the Champions League final, Moussa can miss all the penalties he wants

That was ideal preparation for our visit across London to face Arsenal. In what is becoming a common theme during this save, The Gunners are matching our fine start to the season. They’re unbeaten but did drop points away to Leeds United.

The big call is Troy keeping his place in the XI ahead of Moussa Dembele. It’s been a relatively slow start to the season for our club legend but I’m not too worried. Plus the not-so-young Parrott is now the longest serving member of the squad following Kyle Walker-Peter’s departure and he rarely lets us down.

Arsenal have added Hamed Junior Traore from Man Utd (67M) to their first team, as well as two Brazilian newgens for a combined 40M. Surprisingly Gabriel Martinelli and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have left on free transfers whereas 30-year-old Nicolas Pepe has been sold to Norwich for 13.5M.

Parrott immediately justifies my decision to start him by giving us the lead after just 13 minutes. Truth be told, the real credit belongs to Reinier. The Brazilian has been superb so far and he bursts forward, beating three defenders, before testing Leno in the Arsenal goal. He’s only able to parry it and there’s Troy to put away the rebound from five yards out.

It gets even better less than 10 minutes later. Haidara and Aarons are causing havoc down the right-hand side before the Mali international swings in a dangerous looking cross. It finds man-of-the-moment Reinier, who nods it onto Kean, and he smashes an effort goalwards. Again, we’re fortunate as Kean’s shot is deflected into the path of Camavinga, who makes no mistake from close range. Spurs are in dreamland at the Emirates.

However those celebrations are cut short when Arsenal immediately pull one back. Lucas Torreira curls in an unstoppable freekick and suddenly we’ve got a game on our hands.

As we go into the second half, Arsenal clear a corner and look to launch a counterattack with Bukayo Saka. Yet the winger gets the ball trapped under his feet and there’s Declan Rice to steal possession for the Lilywhites. He races down the wing before playing it across to Kean. The Italian stallion doesn’t panic and powers it into the far corner to restore our two-goal advantage. It’s gone quiet at the Emirates.

It goes from bad to worse for Arsenal in the 81st minute when Quina brings down Kean inside the penalty area. It’s hard to tell with tiny virtual men but it looked like the now-Arsenal man got the ball. Although let’s just say he went through the player to get the ball. Who cares? We’ve got a penalty and I’m not going to complain about it. Kean steps up and converts. 4-1.

After slaying Chelsea on their home turf, we’re doing the same to Arsenal. What a time to be alive.

Nathan Young-Coombes – still need to see who this fella is – scores a late consolation for Arsenal but it matters little. Spurs remain the undisputed kings of London.

Watford are brushed aside in the Carabao Cup before we welcome Manchester United in the Premier League. We’ve had four home matches from our five September fixtures. Nice.

United are another side which, perhaps mimicking real life, are very Jekyll and Hyde in this save. They are a force to be reckoned with at Old Trafford but struggle on the road. We absolutely crush them. 28-2 in shots, 14-1 on target. Crucially, that dominance is also reflected in the scoreline. Reinier (2) and Dembele hand us a 3-0 victory. I’m finding it really hard to give Bruno Fernandes regular minutes because Reinier is in the form of his life.

Despite going a goal down at home to Ajax, a Kean brace sees us maintain our 100% record in the Champions League. This is followed by an equally scrappy 2-1 away victory over Southampton (Joseph Harvey and Kean with the goals). Then it’s time for another international break.

I pick up some new scouts, obviously, and cross my fingers that no one comes back injured. Chris Wells, my goalkeeper prodigy from the very first Youth Intake on the save, is finally handed his first cap for England. I’m proud of you, Chrissy. However my virtual best wishes aren’t respected. Sessegnon is out for 2-3 weeks, as is Gaillard. Damn you, international football!

After crushing Brighton 4-0 (Kean, Tonali and a Parrott brace) we go goalless in our next two matches. A 0-0 draw away to Atletico Madrid is certainly respectable, they beat us 3-0 at their place last season remember, but the same scoreline against Bournemouth is disappointing. We end the month with a 3-0 victory over Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup (Parrott, Kean and academy prospect Andy Reid with the goals).

Leeds, who are surprisingly rock bottom of the Premier League after finishing just outside the European places last year, don’t offer much resistance once the domestic calendar resumes. My forward three didn’t perform well but goals from Max Aarons, Niklas Sule and Rice were enough to see off the lifeless Yorkshiremen.

And then it’s time for Atletico Madrid to roll up in North London. The LaLiga outfit are 2nd in the league and their only loss came away to top-of-the-pile Barcelona at the Camp Nou. This won’t be easy.

My XI is as follows: Wells; Aarons, Sule, Ake, Lodi; Rice, Haidara, Foden, Fernandes; Kean and Parrott. Dembele is perhaps showing some signs of decline but the man grabbed 46 goals from 48 starts last year. He’ll come good again eventually but only has 6 from 17 this term.

We start strong against Atleti, penning them back in their own half. Aarons whips in a cross that finds Lodi and he rifles a thunderous volley into the top corner. What a hit! Eat your heart out Trent and Robbo.

Two mintues later and we’ve doubled our lead – and it’s that man Lodi again. Amadou Haidara is given space to run at the Atletico backline before holding up the ball. Lodi is played in, beats his marker and hits it across Pavlenka. Another clinical finish from an unlikely source – but we’ll take it!

ONE MINUTE LATER AND IT’S THREE! What is happening?! Lodi is involved again. He skips inside but lays the ball off to Foden. The former City playmaker skips past a challenge before rolling it across goal for young Troy to make it 3-0. We’ve scored in the 25th, 27th and 28th minute. Unai Emery must be going livid on the sidelines.

If he wasn’t angry, he will be now – we score a fourth just past the half hour mark. This is insane. Lodi – yes, again – plays it to Troy, who flicks it forward to Kean and the Italian international makes it 4-0. Four goals in SEVEN in-game minutes.

We continue to take the piss by scoring another two before half-time. Kean latches onto Haidara’s long ball before beating Pavlenka (41st minute). Bruno Fernandes adds a SIXTH in first-half injury time as Atletico fail to clear a Lodi cross. By some distance, this has to be our best – and most clinical – 45 minutes of action in seven seasons. Unbelievable Jeff!

I’m able to rest some of my star performers on the hour mark but Kean completes his hat-trick and then young Stewart Simpson (newgen) makes it 8-0. We have absolutely destroyed one of the strongest side’s in Europe and gone a long way to securing top spot in the group. Although if we perform like this, I don’t think we should fear anyone.

It’s time for yet another international break and I’ve decided to replace my Head of Youth Development. I’m sorry, okay? Regis never convinced me but I was sold by his personality trait rather than, you know, his actual ability. Not that he’s had any time to prove me wrong, mind. I successfully poach Bryan Klug from Everton. Sorry, Toffee fans.

In our first game back, Stoke City are beaten 2-0 away from home. Terry and Dembele (!) are the scorers.

I then rested a few of my first XI for the trip to Moscow to face CSKA. The Russians were honestly so poor in the first game that I’m confident a rotated side will get the job done – and that’s how it turned out. Sessegnon, Villani and a brace from Reinier see us emerge as 4-0 victors and secure top spot in the group. We managed 43 shots (22 on target) over 90 minutes. How did this CSKA side manage to qualify for the Champions League?

Then it’s time for another test in the Premier League as we welcome Thomas Tuchel’s Manchester City side to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They spent 151M in the summer to try and bridge the gap to us in the league but it isn’t quite going to plan for City as they currently find themselves down in 7th place.

It’s a good performance from the lads as City don’t even manage to get a shot on target. However, we disappointingly drop points at home for the first time this season. Without Reinier, who is gaining fitness after picking up a knock against Atletico, we struggled to find the breakthrough in attack. Foden did okay but Dembele and Kean were both awful. Or perhaps City set up perfectly to nullify the threat we carry?

Despite not having Dembele’s usual double-digit goal tally, we still remain way out in front at the top of the league. It appears that it’s our defence which is setting us apart from the rest as we’ve conceded just four goals in 13 matches. Reinier is joint-top scorer so far with seven, which is great but also a concern as Kean and Dembele are usually well ahead of the competition.

We’ve scored more than anybody else (33) but United (25), Liverpool (23) and Arsenal (22) aren’t far behind. Although on the Premier League information screen I notice we are on a 46-match unbeaten streak. Nice.

The draw for the FA Cup 3rd round takes place and we’re paired with Watford, away from home. Not an easy tie by any means as The Hornets are involved in the battle for the final Champions League place. We have already beaten them twice this season (2-0, 3-1) although on both occasions we were at home (in the Premier League, then the Carabao Cup)..

That takes things up to December where we all know the games come thick and fast. It also means we can start looking at reinforcements for the January transfer window and perhaps look to move on players we aren’t using. Nottingham Forest are our opponents in the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup, plus we’ll find out who we’ll face in the 1st Knockout Round of the Champions League.

Have a good weekend and remember: stay at bloody home. x

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part I

Welcome back to season seven and the final few days of the transfer window. It’s been a relatively quiet transfer period for the reigning European and World Champions of the Football Universe. This is mainly due to the fact last season blended into the current one thanks to the Club World Cup’s scheduling. I guess this is the price of success, folks.

It also feels like the right time to let Nelson Semedo go. The Portuguese international is 31, largely injury-prone and is beginning to decline. Max Aarons is already ahead of him in the pecking order and is developing into a world class full-back. There’s a 35M deal in place to bring Luciano Villani in from Norwich so I’m just waiting on a buyer for Semedo.

He sounds like an extra from The Sopranos, doesn’t he? Whadd’ya gonna do?

After negotiations with Inter Milan, we agree terms on a 34M transfer. I turned down the same amount from Wolves because I don’t really want to come up against him. Go conquer Italy, Nelson.

Consider the extra 3.4M a thank you, Nelson

In terms of centre back options to ‘replace’ Virgil van Dijk, I’m torn between Joe Gomez (70M) and newgen Joseph Harvey (41M). I’ve had Gomez on the shortlist since season one, alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, but neither would force a move despite being unhappy when Liverpool rejected my offers. He’s on the transfer list but they are demanding a lot of money for a 28-year-old. No doubt he’d want a hefty raise from his current 125,000-per-week salary as well. I’m not convinced.

Harvey is someone that came through Manchester United’s academy in the first season, before I knew how and when to poach them away. He actually spent time on loan with us but United were always reluctant to sell.

After signing van Dijk, I distanced myself from all other defenders and the unhappy Harvey actually joined RB Leipzig last summer. Harvey wants out due to “broken promises” and, at 20 years old, is a much better long-term prospect and could learn alongside the experienced duo of Niklas Sule and Nathan Ake.

The Community Shield match against Liverpool goes to penalties, just like it did two years ago. It was a pretty forgettable 90 minutes that ended goalless. Bruno Fernandes, Moise Kean, Amadou Haidara and Eduardo Camavinga all scored from the spot for us. Only Dybala did for Liverpool (Moriba and Fabinho missed their efforts).

Survey says: One more for the good guys.

Semedo officially joins Inter for 34M so I confirm the deal to sign Villani. I also finalise Harvey’s arrival, ahead of Gomez, to fill the quota of four senior centre halves at the club.

Another Harvey, this time Harvey White, is sold to Huddersfield for 3M. To be honest, I’d completely forgotten he was even at Spurs. White simply wasn’t good enough and 3M is a decent return for someone with little room for improvement.

The only notable movement in terms of staff was appointing Regis Le Bris as ‘Head of Youth Development’ to replace the now retired Bruno Conti. I’m not entirely convinced by him but the ones I wanted ahead of Regis were all unwilling to move. The key aspect to Le Bris was his ‘Model Citizen’ personality. He’s earning so little I could sack him if a better option becomes available. I’ll try to be patient though, I promise.

And here we are on the opening day of the season. Without any doubt, the side I hate facing the most on this save is Liverpool. They’ve finished in the top two every season bar one and despite Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino no longer being in their starting XI they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Pep Guardiola remains in charge but the club itself has been in somewhat of a slump when it comes to winning trophies. Back in 2021, ‘The Reds’ claimed the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup. Since then the only cup they’ve lifted was the FA Cup last season. It can’t be too long before the pressure is turned up on Pep.

There’s no point going into much detail about this contest either as it’s eerily similar to the Community Shield snoozefest, The only difference is this one contained a goal – but we didn’t score it. Rayan Cherki holds that honour. Unfortunately for him, he sliced the ball into his own net to hand us the 1-0 victory. We were really flat though.

So that takes us to the Astana Arena in Kazakhstan where we’ll face Marseille in the UEFA Super Cup. I’m going with a largely youthful XI: Wells; Villani, Harvey, Ake, Sessegnon; Tonali, Trecco, Gaillard, Reinier; Kean and Dembele.

A couple of early chances fall our way as it becomes clear there’s a gulf in quality between the two sides. Tonali sprays it out wide to Sessegnon and he crosses it to the back post. Villani latches onto the ball and drills an effort towards goal but it hits Dembele and wrong-foots the goalkeeper. We’re 1-0 up with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

It soon goes from bad to worse for Marseille. They have a corner but Gaillard clears and Reinier picks it up just outside the penalty area. He bursts away on the counterattack and it immediately becomes clear that Marseille have sent too many men forward. Reinier has Kean and Dembele for support but doesn’t need them. With just the keeper to beat, the Brazilian’s effort is too powerful to handle and it ends up in the back of the net.

We don’t make any changes at half-time but there is an adjustment to the scoreline early on. Tonali swings in a corner and Marseille clear it, but only to the edge of the box. It comes to Ake who plays it across to Trecco who smashes it past Ngapandouetnbu. Yes, that’s the goalkeeper’s name.

Camavinga, Foden and Tal come on with the result wrapped up. Marseille, to their credit, grab a consolation goal through Shoya Nakajima but it finishes 3-1. Does that mean we are now the Super European and World Champions?

“Super Champions of the World, you’ll never sing that”

Speaking of which, the Champions League group stage draw has paired us up with familiar foes Ajax and Atletico Madrid, as well as CSKA Moscow. We won’t make the same mistake of underestimating Ajax like we did last time. As long as we beat Atleti at home, I’m confident we can finish in top spot. It won’t be as easy as last year though.

In the Premier League, we secure comfortable wins over both Norwich (A) and Watford (H). The Canaries threatened to put up a fight when Hamza Choudhury cancelled out Kean’s opener but goals either side of half-time from Reinier and Declan Rice saw us claim all three points.

Watford set up to frustrate us at the ‘new’ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and we had our midfield to thank for the victory. Reinier was again on the scoresheet before a late, late Amadou Haidara goal ended any hope The Hornets had of snatching an unlikely point.

That brings us onto our first real test away from home against Chelsea. Much like in real life, The Blues aren’t afraid to change managers to try and find a solution. The current man in the dugout is Leonardo Jardim. I’m actually surprised he’s still there to be honest.

Chelsea finished outside of the European places for the third season in a row last time out. Jardim only arrived in January, which is what probably saved him, but there’s a real crisis going on at Stamford Bridge.

I’ve stuck with young Chris Wells between the sticks ever since the Super Cup triumph. He’s done really well in that spell, no pun intended, and whilst Oblak doesn’t deserve to sit on the bench it’s probably time to start giving more minutes to the budding youngsters in my squad. Our XI in full is: Wells; Aarons, Sule, Ake, Lodi; Rice, Trecco, Camavinga, Reinier; Dembele and Kean.

Dele Alli, who still hates me, starts for Chelsea as they switch to 4-4-2 themselves. Is this a sign of Gaffney’s influence on English football? Move over, Pep. There’s a new bald fraud in town. Jordan Pickford has asked to leave The Blues but starts in goal for them, as does Erling Haaland after failing to secure a move away in the summer.

It’s yet another uneventful half of Premier League football. We’re the better side but the only significant incident was Nathan Ake picking up yet another injury. The Dutch international has missed so much football over the last 18 months that if young Harvey establishes himself in the XI, it might be time to bid farewell to another first season signing. We’ll see how bad it is first.

Chelsea come flying out of the blocks at the start of the second half and look to find Dele in the box. Camavinga robs him of possession. He plays it out wide to Lodi and the Brazilian then finds his countryman, Reinier, in acres of space in the centre of the park. He is tackled but the ball fortunately goes to Aarons on the right hand side. His pull back is aimed towards Dembele and the legend smashes it goalwards – but it’s blocked. Yet in another slice of good fortunate the deflection drops to Kean who blasts it past Pickford to give us a 1-0 lead.

Determined to get back on level terms, Chelsea launch attack after attack. Our defence holds firm and the ball is now with Wells. He throws it long to Reinier and, just like Forrest Gump, he feels like running.

No one can stop him and once he reaches the end of the box, he unleashes a thunderous strike.. which goes into the top corner! An outstanding strike from Reinier and Chelsea, to quote Football Manager, have a mountain to climb.

We are forced to play largely on the counter but Chelsea are struggling to find a way through our impressive backline. Aarons pinches the ball off the winger and sends it down the flank for Dembele. Moussa doesn’t have many options available so drives towards goal, beats two men and shoots at goal. Pickford pushes it out but the ball hits Ampadu and rolls over the line. 3-0.

The home team and their supporters are crushed – and it soons gets even worse. Chelsea can’t clear a corner and Haidara passes it into Reinier’s feet. The Brazilian dazzles his way into the box before Matheus Henrique wipes him out. Peter Bankes points to the spot and it’s time to see if Dembele can get the goal his overall performance deserves.

Pickford guesses the right way but Dembele’s effort crashes into the sidenetting. 4-0 at Stamford Bridge and Jardim must be preparing his farewell party.

And the verdict on Ake’s injury is.. not good. He’s out for 3-6 weeks. Fortunately, we’ve got quality cover in the squad and there’s now a two-week international break.

Speaking of which, Phil Foden picks up an injury with England. He’s out for 2-3 weeks but I’m struggling to find a place for him in the first XI anyway. Reinier is having his best start to the season and Fernandes is my captain. Foden hasn’t excelled playing behind the front two and he’s got Camavinga and Gaillard for competition in the ‘Mezzala’ role. I’m certain that I don’t want to sell Foden but I’ll need to manage his general happiness this year.

During the international break I toy with the idea of signing Ansu Fati for no other reason than he was available for about half of his market value. That doesn’t mean to say he’s actually worth the 60M it says, but 35M does sound cheap. After a lot of deliberation I decide it would be a waste of our transfer budget to sign someone who excels in a role we don’t even use. Sorry for wasting your time, Ansu.

In the next update our Champions League campaign gets underway plus there are six-pointers against Arsenal (A), Manchester United (H) and Manchester City (A) in the league.

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Summer Transfer Window

If you haven’t read the Champions League Final special blog then go back and do that first. Seriously, if only so you can experience the rollercoaster of emotions we went through against Bayern Munich. It was a contest that had absolutely everything and I’m still not entirely convinced it ended the way it did. Right, that’s enough shilling from me. If you haven’t read it by now, I won’t be able to convince you so let’s carry on with the aftermath.

The football world doesn’t stop for anything — well, except for worldwide pandemics — and before we’ve managed to get the taste of champagne out of our mouths, the phone is ringing. Apparently our victory over the Bundesliga kings has earned us a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup – and the draw for that competition took place on the same night. Well, okay then.

***~~Football~~ Soccer is heading to the United States***

We’ve been paired with ES Tunis and Beijing Guoan. The Chinese Super League remains a place for ageing stars to continue earning a nice payday (new tax laws haven’t come into place yet). Stefan Savic, Fernando, Cedric Bakambu, Wilfried Zaha and Alfredo Morelos are the most notable names in their squad. All of them are 32 or over with the exception of the former Rangers striker, who is only 28. Neither of the two sides should present much of a challenge though.

It feels harsh but my boys only have three weeks off as the tournament begins on the 23rd June. This is going to be a mess when it comes to managing fitness levels. I’ll look to rotate heavily in the first two matches before we inevitably get drawn against another top European club. Then again, after a three week break and no preseason camp, I’m not sure what type of condition anybody is going to be in come the end of the month.

All of the youngsters we poached from English sides arrive. Three of the six have 5-star potential. They’ve got some big boots to fill as my kids mopped up last season. I’ll step in and deny loan deals if need be to ensure they all become club-trained. Loans are primarily reserved for the U23 squad.

FC Barcelona make a 17M bid for the transfer-listed Virgil van Dijk. He wanted silly money for a 34-year-old and I’ve been trying to stick to my ‘Moneyball’ roots a little here. The plan is to limit the amount of ageing players I have on large – and expensive – contracts. I manage to get them to up their offer to 19M, above his current value, and he quickly agrees terms to sign for (still) Ernesto Valverde’s side. Thanks for the memories, big man.

**The fans aren’t happy – surprise, surprise – but VVD fulfilled his purpose at Spurs**

As is commonplace during the summer, a lot of promising starlets are put up for sale after they refuse to extend their contracts. I’m hoovering up the best of the rest to fill my U23 squad, although most will want to be loaned out. There are two really promising Argentinian wonderkids I’m fighting to land: Maximo Acuña and Sergio Rios. Admittedly both sound like they could have been part of WWF’s ill-fated light heavyweight division. Could one become my Taka Michinoku?

The foray into the transfer market has caused me to take my eye off the ball and the entire squad is desperately unfit after a three-week break. I knew I should have tried to organise an inter-squad friendly or something before the tournament began. Regardless, it’s a horrible time to whack in what is, all intents and purposes, a friendly competition. This is going to be a nightmare.

I cobbled together the fittest XI available for the match against Beijing Guoan and, despite an early setback, we emerged 5-1 victors. Claudio Trecco, Phil Foden and a Moussa Dembele hat-trick were enough to see off the toughest team in the group. We will need to rotate the entire XI for the next match which takes place.. in just three days time. Wunderbar.

After going 15 hours (!) without a goal, young striker Keran Tal finally breaks his duck – and bags a hat-trick of his own. Bruno Fernandes claims a brace with Declan Rice getting the other in our 6-1 victory.

The results were never in question but we’ve now got another quick turnaround as we’ll be facing Barcelona in two days time. Seriously, which moron organised this tournament and which other moron agreed to it?

Some of my fittest available players are in the low 70s for overall condition. As any Football Manager player worth his salt would attest to, it is a huge no-no to pick them. Yet I can’t even turn to my youngsters as the squad numbers are limited. Bollocks. I’ll have to risk their short-term futures and hope to god none of them come back with torn muscles or broken bones. The only saving grace is Barça are in the exact same position.

This also represents our first time coming up against Harry Kane since he left us. No doubt Troy went over to him during the warm up and said: “I’m the captain now.” For 90 minutes, you mean nothing to us Harry. And if you keep telling Kean to join you at Barça, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you. Well, no, I don’t. But just stop it, okay?

Nelson Semedo and the French prodigy Aurelien Gaillard give us a 2-0 lead inside 30 minutes and I’m able to lower the tempo – and intensity – in the hope it’ll protect my squad from breaking down. What’s even more ridiculous is this glorified postseason/preseason competition doesn’t allow for more than three substitutes. I hope the money is worth it, FIFA.

Reinier adds a third late in the second half and we advance to the semi-final of the Club World Cup. The only three players in my entire squad with over 80% condition are the two goalkeepers and Moise Kean, who is fit again after his ankle break .The vast majority are 65% or below following the Barça game and we’ve got Arsenal in four days’ time.

The match against Barça broke the FIFA Club World Cup attendance record with 105,121 in the stands. For the curious amongst you, it was held at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.

Perhaps the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that Eduardo Camavinga and Amadou Haidara haven’t been involved so far. That’s because they are involved in the African Cup of Nations. Organisation 101 in the football calendar.

Bring on The Gunners.

I’m finally able to reunite Dembele and Kean in attack but it’s the breakout star of the season, Gaillard, who gives us the early lead. It’s a really well worked team goal with Rice, Reinier and Max Aarons all involved and it’s the former Norwich man’s cross that Gaillard heads home. Four minutes later and we’re handed the perfect opportunity to double our lead.

Reinier charges into the box and Kieran Tierney barges him over. Dembele, the man who scored the most important goal in Spurs history, steps up to take it one. With his customary short run-up, Dembele smashes his effort towards the bottom left corner… but Leno denies him! It’s an outstanding stop but, at the same time, has crushed Moussa’s morale – and rating.

As we go into the second half, the team remains firmly in control but a single-goal advantage isn’t enough. Troy replaces the devastated Dembele whilst goalscorer Gaillard and Tonali make way for Trecco and Fernandes.

Arsenal have a throw-in deep in the Spurs half but Trecco robs Quina of possession and launches it long. Parrott collects the ball and has acres of space to run into whilst Kean pulls out wide and keeps his eye on Arsenal’s backline. Troy threads his pass behind the last man and the Italian stallion is away. Kean doesn’t fluff his lines and smashes it across goal and into the back of the net. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Arsenal score the goal of the game in the 82nd minute through Piatek but that’s all she wrote. We’re into the Club World Cup final where we’ll face.. Real Madrid or Liverpool.

**Even on the other side of the world, Arsenal remain firmly in our shadow**

As we await the winner, the signing of Sergio Rios from Maurico Pochettino’s old club Newell’s is completed. 5M is an absolute bargain and his value immediately shoots up to 21M.

If Rios develops as I hope, there might be a chance for him to break into the first team picture soon enough. In saying that, I still need to give Tal an opportunity as the 21-year-old is currently worth 52M(!) and is forth-choice. Maybe it’s time to move on Troy? I don’t know. Back to the football!

**If in doubt, turn to Argentinian wonderkids**

Barça bid for Kean. Damn you, Harry! Instead of flat-out rejecting it, I negotiate and ask for 200M. They walk away. Kean is unhappy but isn’t complaining to his teammates about it. The same happens with Rice when Real Madrid bid for him but Declan is different, he loves it here and doesn’t want the move.

Nelson Semedo is injured. Shock. Oh, and we’ll face Real Madrid in the final.

Our XI to face Real Madrid is: Oblak; Aarons, Sule, Ake, Lodi; Rice, Tonali, Gaillard, Fernandes; Dembele and Kean.

Real Madrid have a corner that Eden Hazard is going to deliver. Yep, he’s still there. Sule takes charge at the back and heads it away. Brozovic tries to keep the attack going but Fernandes steals the ball off his feet and launches it down the line for Kean.

Marcos Llorente, who they re-signed and is being used at centre back today, dives in but Kean comes away with the ball and is now closing in on goal. Odriozola is back to cover so Kean lays it off for Lodi to cross instead. Gaillard leaps highest, nods the ball on and there’s Fernandes to volley it home. 1-0 to Spurs after 25 minutes!

Less than 10 minutes later and Madrid are pressing for an equaliser in front of what I can only imagine is a stadium full of American LaLiga fans. They keep position well before Rodrygo dribbles into the box and looks to find Jovic in the middle. Ake cuts the cross out and plays it up to Kean, who is just inside his own half.

The Italian’s pace hasn’t been hurt by the recent injury layoff as Madrid’s defence backpedals to keep up with Kean. The unselfish striker notices his partner Dembele is available and plays the ball in behind. When he isn’t being inconsistent from the penalty spot, there’s ice running through Moussa’s veins. He rounds Courtois and knocks it into the back of the empty net. 2-0 and we aren’t even 40 minutes in here.

Everyone is performing well out there so I don’t need to make any changes at the break. In fact, due to how comfortable this lead is — who says 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in football? — I don’t turn to the bench until the 70th minute. And even then, it’s just to freshen up the team rather than anything Real Madrid are doing to worry me.

Troy replaces Kean in attack, we must protect him, whilst I give the impressive duo of Gaillard and Tonali a breather so Trecco and Foden come on for the final 20 minutes.

As the clock ticks over to the 80th minute, Madrid begin to send more men forward. Rosillo (newgen) manages to send a low ball across the penalty area and it goes through everybody until it reaches Vinicius Jr, who simply can’t miss from 10 yards out. Aarons has switched off and now we are facing a nervous end to the match.

But it doesn’t matter! We hold on and are officially crowned World Champions! Not in the same way West Ham fans claim but, you know, by actually winning an international tournament.

**Beating both LaLiga giants, as well as Arsenal, is pretty damn impressive**

There’s no surprise to see Dembele claim the top scorer award for the competition. It’s just what he does.

Here is the ‘Dream Team’ or ‘Best XI’ for the Club World Cup. What a return to form for Ake and Kean after both missed significant chunks of last season due to injuries.

**Remember the name: Aurelien Gaillard**

Gaillard also equalled the record for most Man of the Match awards with two, including in the final. He’s developed into a world class midfielder and it’s going to be hard to drop him once Haidara and Camavinga return to the fold. As the old cliche goes, it’s a good problem to have.

It’s mad that preseason technically begins in three days’ time.

I’ll spare the details of preseason results, which truly don’t matter, and run down our business in the transfer window ahead of the Premier League opener at home against Liverpool. Thank you once again, random-fixture-generating computer.

At some point in the next 12-18 months I need to make a decision on the long-term futures of certain players. Jude Bellingham, Karamoko Dembele and (newgen) Martin Hoogervorst are all sent out on loan again to Roma, Celta Vigo and Mainz respectively.

Joe White simply isn’t good enough and is sold to Nottingham Forest for 3.4M. Likewise youngster Titouan Thomas, who we picked up for next to nothing at the start of the save, is sold to Sassuolo for 15M.

Kyle Walker-Peters, the longest serving member of the squad, is put up for sale. Hertha Berlin offer a deal worth 13.5M which I flat out reject. The 28-year-old is still good enough to perform at Premier League level, just not for the Premier League champions.

Everton took Rashford off our hands in January and offer a loan deal for KWP with an option to make it permanent for 23M if he plays over 20 matches. I negotiate the future fee up to 29M and that’s it.

Thanks for your years of service, Kyle.

Norwich have a really good young right back, from Argentina no less, and I want him to play backup to Max Aarons. This would of course mean letting go of Nelson Semedo who has been with us since season one. His stats are starting to decline though and at 31, on over 150,000-per week, the smart move would be to cash in before his value crashes.

Young academy prospects Barry Kerslake (Charlton), Stocchi (Nimes), Nico Fabbri (Sochaux) and Negi (Real Sociedad) all depart on temporary deals. Chay Cooper, another Spurs original, is sold to Huddersfield for 7.5M and I cut my losses on young French midfielder Noah Françoise who joins Shrewsbury for a paltry 725,000.

**The story of the transfer window so far..**

I still need to add another first team quality centre back to the squad to replace van Dijk and then we’re ready to go.

Let’s have you, season seven.

Andrew Gaffney

Ramblings from Spain.

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Category Archives: Pochettino

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 8 Finale

FA Cup Final

Champions League Final

End of Season Awards

What happens next?

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 8 – Part II

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 8 – Part I

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 Finale

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part V

FA Cup semi-final vs Manchester City

1st leg vs Atletico Madrid (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)

2nd leg vs Atletico Madrid (Wanda Metropolitano)

FA Cup Final vs Arsenal

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part IV

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part III

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part II

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Part I

Rebuilding Tottenham: Season 7 – Summer Transfer Window